The government can do more in protecting consumers in the e-commerce field, and the Ministry of Trade and Industry is consulting the industry and will announce more of the latest initiative in the coming weeks.

Liu Yanling, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Senior Minister of Administration of Culture, Community and Youth, pointed out this on Thursday (March 6) when debating the Ministry of Trade and Industry expenditure budget at the Congressional Appropriations Committee. She said that this is because unfair methods in the e-commerce field are emerging one after another and are not obvious.

While reducing the regulatory burden on enterprises, the government is well aware that if the market wants to operate normally, consumers must maintain trust in merchants and markets.

Liu Yanling said the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Singapore Council for Competition and Consumers (CCCS) regularly reviews the consumer protection system to ensure consumers are protected. In addition, the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act provides remedies for consumers who experience unfair behavior when trading with businesses; regulatory agencies in the field have also set specific standards for the regulated fields.

“A proven consumer protection system also requires strong support from major partners and enterprises. The Ministry of Trade and Industry has worked closely with the Singapore Consumer Association (CASE) to raise consumer awareness and defend their rights.”

Further reading

E-wallet merchants join FIDReC to resolve disputes consumers can enjoy higher protection

E-wallet merchants join FIDReC to resolve disputes consumers can enjoy higher protection

Yang Yicai calls for updates to consumer laws to deal with e-commerce and “shrinkable inflation” problems

Yang Yicai calls for updates to consumer laws to deal with e-commerce and

As for how the government protects consumer rights in the face of many fraud cases, Liu Yanling responded to a question from Workers' Party MP Lin Ruilian (Aljuni Constituency) and said that most frauds are criminal in nature and are usually carried out by highly complex criminal networks, while many criminal networks are abroad, so law enforcement agencies are more suitable for handling such cases.

Lin Ruilian’s question is that when consumers are trapped in scams, they often deal with banks, telecom companies and social media, and whether the authorities are paying attention to the unequal bargaining power in these industries to protect consumers.