Regarding the case of Make Sense hairspray products not meeting the conditions for circulation in the Vietnamese market, not having carried out e-commerce procedures, but many KOCs (influenced consumers) still livestream and finalize applications in large quantities, raising the issue of legal responsibility of related parties.
Regarding this issue, a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper had an interview with Master, Lawyer Hoang Ha (Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association).
Need to consider the responsibility of e-commerce platforms, KOC
Make Sense hairspray product has not had a declaration dossier in Vietnam and has been determined by the Drug Administration of Vietnam as not meeting the conditions for circulation in the Vietnamese market. Even appearing at a booth labeled TikTok Mall, how is the responsibility of businesses, sellers and e-commerce platforms defined?
- In my opinion, it is necessary to define responsibility according to each link. First of all, the organization and individual responsible for bringing Make Sense to the Vietnamese market must be primarily responsible for the legality of the product.
According to Circular 06/2011/TT-BYT, cosmetics are only allowed to circulate after being granted a receipt number for cosmetic product declaration by a competent authority. Therefore, if the Drug Administration of Vietnam determines that the product does not have a declaration dossier, then putting the product into business is not meeting the legal conditions.
Sellers also have independent responsibility. The E-commerce Law 2025, effective from July 1, 2026, requires sellers to provide and publicize legal information about goods and must stop cooperating, stop streaming, and remove information when detected or requested by competent authorities to handle violations. Livestreamers must refuse cooperation when sellers do not provide sufficient documents as prescribed.
For platforms, current law does not consider the platform just a place to "rent out seats for sale". Platform owners must censor goods information before displaying, review, remove and promptly handle illegal business content.
The fact that products are labeled "TikTok Mall" is only a classification mechanism, commercial verification of the platform, does not replace the product announcement procedure of state agencies and does not exclude the legal responsibility of the exchange if it does not fully fulfill its control obligations.
Lawyer, with KOC/KOLs directly livestreaming introductions, promotions, attaching shopping baskets and finalizing product orders that do not meet circulation conditions, how is the legal responsibility of this team assessed?
- KOC/KOL directly livestreaming, introducing products, attaching shopping baskets and receiving commissions can no longer be considered simply "advertising readers". From January 1, 2026, the revised Advertising Law stipulates that influencers when advertising must verify the credibility of advertisers, check documents related to products and are not allowed to introduce if they have not used or do not clearly understand the product.
From July 1, 2026, the Law on E-commerce also requires livestreamers to refuse cooperation if sellers do not provide sufficient necessary documents, and are not allowed to provide false or misleading information about the use, origin, quality and content related to goods.
Therefore, if Make Sense does not yet meet the conditions for circulation but KOC/KOL still promotes it as a legal, genuine, safe product or is eligible for sale in Vietnam, it is necessary to consider the corresponding responsibility for the content they have conveyed, the level of knowing or having to know about the legal status of the product and the benefits they receive.
It is necessary to clarify the entire chain of bringing products to consumers, from importers to distributors in Vietnam.
For e-commerce platforms, especially when products appear in the area, the booth is introduced as "Mall", do consumers have a basis to expect higher levels of legality, origin and circulation conditions of goods? How much responsibility does the platform have to bear in verifying sellers and controlling products?
- In my opinion, consumers have a basis to expect higher when the product is placed in an area introduced by the platform as "Mall", "genuine" or has similar confirmation signs. However, it should be noted that "Mall" is not a legal certification from a State agency and cannot replace the mandatory circulation conditions for cosmetics.
It is worth mentioning that current law has shifted the responsibility of the exchange from relatively passive to proactive control. The E-commerce Law 2025 requires the intermediary platform's management to electronically authenticate the seller's identity before allowing sales and censor goods information before displaying in order to prevent and combat illegal goods, counterfeit goods, smuggled goods, and goods of unknown origin.
The 2023 Law on Protection of Consumer Rights also requires a platform for transparency of goods information, providing information about sellers and having a mechanism to receive and resolve reflections and complaints.
Therefore, if a product does not meet the conditions for circulation but is still approved into the "Mall" area, is widely promoted and sold in large quantities, it is necessary to clarify what documents the floor has checked, what criteria to attach the "Mall" label and whether it fully fulfills the censorship obligation or not.
E-commerce platforms do not automatically take responsibility for sellers, but if they do not fulfill or do not fully fulfill legal obligations that cause damage to buyers, they may have to compensate or be jointly liable for compensation according to the E-commerce Law.
According to the lawyer, functional agencies need to clarify which links to avoid the situation where goods that do not meet the conditions for circulation are still advertised, livestreamed and sold in large quantities on e-commerce platforms? Is this a current loophole?
- Functional agencies need to clarify the entire chain of bringing products to consumers, from importing or distributing units in Vietnam, the name holder of the booth, KOC/KOL livestream, linked marketing units to the platform's censorship responsibility.
In particular, it is necessary to determine which documents the product is submitted to the exchange, who provides those documents, what the exchange has checked, and after the management agency issues a warning or requests to remove them, how long the product will continue to be sold.
The E-commerce Law 2025 has clearly stipulated the responsibility of platforms to verify sellers, censor goods information before displaying, have a system to review, warn, remove violating goods and prevent recurrence.
Livestreamers must also refuse to cooperate if the seller does not provide enough necessary information and must stop broadcasting and removing information when violations are detected. If the exchange does not fully fulfill its obligations but causes damage, the law also sets a responsibility for compensation or joint compensation.
A more worrying issue is the gap between regulations and enforcement capacity. If a product does not meet the conditions for circulation but can still sell tens or hundreds of thousands of orders, it is necessary to review the data connection mechanism between specialized management agencies and exchanges, the speed of warning, removal and responsibility for inspection before allowing products to reach consumers.
- Thank you, lawyer!
