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PETALING JAYA: Online businesses may soon require a special licence under a move by the government to protect consumers.

Deputy minister of domestic trade and consumer affairs Rosol Wahid said this was in response to the high level of cyber fraud.

The Star quoted him as saying that there were plans to amend existing regulations to allow for the new licensing mechanism.

Rosol pointed out that apart from being user-friendly, online business platforms such as marketplaces, social media, websites and shopping apps should also be “conducive and safe”.

He said his ministry would study models used in the US, China, Singapore and Saudi Arabia to monitor online businesses.

He said the ministry was also engaging interest groups such as platform providers, consumer and seller associations, academics and economists “to ensure that every aspect, including consumer and seller protection as well as enforcement” could be effectively carried out.

Rosol said that of the 34,681 complaints received in 2020, a total of 11,511 were about online transactions. There were 27,469 complaints in the following year, of which 11,463 were related to online transactions.

Under the Registration of Business Act 1956, an online business must be registered with the Companies Commission of Malaysia. Failure to do so would result in a RM50,000 fine or two years in jail or both.

Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/business/2022/09/26/govt-to-consider-proposal-to-legislate-online-business/