Counterfeits in the Cart: Malaysia’s New E-Commerce Law Is One for Brand Owners to Watch

For trademark owners, finding a suspicious product listing online is often easier than finding the seller behind it.

A listing can be reported and removed, only for something remarkably similar to reappear under another account. Anyone who handles online brand enforcement will know that getting one listing taken down does not always solve the larger problem.

Malaysia’s proposed new e-commerce law may eventually change part of that equation.

The Government is currently preparing legislation to replace the Electronic Commerce Act 2006 (Act 658), with clearer accountability for platforms, sellers and users forming part of the proposed framework. As reported by Bernama in August 2026, the Government considers the existing Act insufficient to comprehensively address the responsibilities of the various participants in modern e-commerce.

For brand owners, there is another reason to follow the development closely: counterfeit goods are specifically among the concerns being considered as part of the reform.

According to Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (KPDN)’s Review of Malaysia’s E-Commerce Regulatory Framework, the proposals under consideration include stronger platform accountability, seller identity verification, record keeping and measures relating to illegal or counterfeit goods. The review also considers a broader duty of care for e-commerce platforms in preventing harm arising from such goods.

That could have practical significance for trademark enforcement. The real difficulty is often not identifying the infringing listing itself, but identifying the person behind it, dealing with repeat accounts and pursuing sellers operating from outside Malaysia.

The Government has also acknowledged gaps in dealing with cross-border sellers. KPDN has noted the territorial limitations of the existing legal framework and is considering measures including stronger platform accountability, requirements affecting overseas entities and possible extraterritorial application of the new legislation.

The broader discussion on platform regulation is continuing. As recently as 8 September 2026, Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil noted that e-commerce platforms are currently not subject to licensing and that there remain gaps in the present system which require further consideration.

The details will, of course, depend on the legislation that ultimately emerges.

For trademark owners, the questions are fairly practical. How far will platforms be expected to verify sellers? What happens after credible notice of counterfeit activity is received? Will platforms be required to do more about repeat offenders? And will the new framework make it easier to identify sellers operating from outside Malaysia?

We do not have those answers yet, but platform accountability and counterfeit goods are already part of the discussion, which makes the proposed law one worth watching from a trademark perspective.

For now, the takedown button remains busy.

The more interesting question is what happens once the new law arrives.

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“There are indeed gaps in the e-commerce system. At present, e-commerce is not yet licensed, so we need to look into this matter.” Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil, Communications Minister, 8 September 2026

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