Regulate digital marketplace, assist subsistence sellers

The Internet Transactions Act of 2023 is now in full effect, clearly defining how our digital marketplace operates. It empowers regulatory agencies with the authority to issue takedown orders against online listings of illegal goods and services.

- 

The law aims to bring much-needed order and accountability to the sprawling, often unruly online economy. Yet, as with any law that changes the game fundamentally, it calls for a delicate balancing act—one that ensures fair competition and trade, protects consumers, ensures fair taxation, prevents abuse, and respects the humanity behind countless small-scale sellers struggling to make ends meet.

At first glance, the Internet Transactions Act signals progress. For too long, online marketplaces have been a wild frontier where illicit products—from counterfeit goods to prohibited substances—would slip through with impunity. They have fostered unfair competition with businesses operating within the ambit of the law. Now, the power to swiftly remove such listings is a vital tool to safeguard consumers and uphold the rule of law. Furthermore, by formalizing the oversight of these transactions, the government opens the door to a more robust tax collection framework that can fund essential public services.