Solicitation of Public Comments on the Draft Amendment of the E-Commerce Law

In order to further implement the decision made by the Party Central Committee and the State Council on the platform economy, better protect the legitimate rights and interests of all parties involved in e-commerce, further standardize the behavior of e-commerce platform operators, and promote the sustainable and healthy development of e-commerce, recently, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Ministry of Commerce have drafted the "People's Republic of China E-Commerce Law (Solicitation Draft)" (referred to as the "Solicitation Draft") and solicited public opinions. The "Solicitation Draft" consists of twenty articles, mainly covering five aspects: First, expanding the scope of legal regulation. In addition to the current platforms and operators within the platforms, the rights and obligations of other participants in the platform economy are further clarified. Second, improving the platform liability system. Building on the current fixed penalties and orders to cease operations for rectification, enriching regulatory measures to support normalized supervision. Third, clarifying the mechanism of coordinated regulation. In response to the cross-border and cross-industry operations in the platform economy, the consistency in management of offline and online businesses is enhanced, and integrated supervision involving departmental cooperation and central-local coordination is strengthened. Fourth, regulating prominent illegal behaviors in e-commerce. Focusing on issues that the public strongly reflects on in practice, relevant provisions are modified and improved to effectively respond to social concerns. Fifth, deepening the opening-up and cooperation in e-commerce. Promoting the alignment of rules, regulations, management, and standards in the field of e-commerce with international practices, strengthening industry self-discipline, guiding orderly overseas expansion, increasing countermeasures for foreign retaliation, and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises. In the next steps, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Ministry of Commerce will refine the draft amendments based on feedback from public opinions and promote the prompt revision and implementation of the "People's Republic of China E-Commerce Law" to consolidate the legal foundation for the innovation and healthy development of the platform economy. This article is selected from the official website of the State Administration for Market Regulation, edited by GMTEight: mz.