Digital system: regulation of the platform economy will change in Russia
The Federation Council has approved two laws aimed at creating a secure environment on digital platforms. Russia also plans to create legal conditions for the development and operation of such platforms. They may come into force in the fall of 2026. Izvestia investigated the prospects for this area and how the controversial issues would be resolved.
Laws regulating the platform economy: the essence of what you need to know
Russia is one of the first to introduce systemic regulation of the platform economy, the press service of the Ministry of Economic Development told Izvestia.
The ministry noted that the platforms reduce the number of intermediaries and transaction costs in the economy, and most importantly, connect the country's market by providing manufacturers with a wide logistics network for the delivery of goods, including from remote regions.
However, at some point, platforms became regulators of market access, although they are not responsible to the buyer for the quality of goods and services. The Ministry of Energy explained that now they have a clear set of rules that is designed to protect the interests of all market participants and ensure its further growth.
The laws introduce three sets of key norms. The first concerns consumer protection. In particular, customers should be confident in the quality of their products. Platforms must now verify information about sales partners and prevent product cards from being published without information confirming the safety of the products.
The second set of rules is aimed at protecting business interests, it defines what should be included in the agreement between the platform operator and the sales partner. This is necessary in order to record the grounds for sanctions, the change in the position of the product card in the search results and the procedure for calculating the operator's remuneration for the provision of services.
Finally, the third block of changes will determine the specifics of the interaction of platforms with the self-employed and sole proprietors, and criteria will be fixed, the totality of which will allow recognizing the relations of counterparties as civil law.
The adoption of laws is just the beginning of a lot of work to regulate the sector, the press service of the Ministry of Energy said. The government will have to adopt by-laws. This includes approving the rules for maintaining and forming the platform registry, and detailing the norms established in the laws. For example, it is necessary to determine which data about the platform's partners will be required to verify, how and through which government information systems they will receive information.
Today, platformization is one of the drivers of the economy, Alexander Isaevich, CEO of SME Corporation, told Izvestia. In addition to the obvious convenience, reducing the seller-buyer distance and minimizing the costs of entrepreneurs for their current activities, platforms encourage companies to develop and compete in a competitive environment.
However, the process of platform development, according to him, has been so rapid in recent years that legislative regulation has not kept pace with it. Therefore, the adoption of the bill is an important step towards shaping the regulatory architecture of the platform economy.
— In particular, the draft law provides for the obligation for marketplaces to organize a system of pre-trial consideration of complaints. Now the marketplace will be obliged to cancel the applied measures within two days from the moment of recognition of the complaint as justified, — Alexander Isaevich specified.
Also, now the product card will be required to post information that the product is subject to labeling. And if the terms of the offer change, the platform will have to inform about it at least 15 days before such changes take effect. In addition, the bill provides for a ban on the use of "auto-actions" by marketplaces.
But we must understand that the appearance of laws on digital platforms alone will not solve all the accumulated issues at once, Alexander Isaevich added. The implementation of the adopted amendments will require the adoption of by-laws, the creation of a special registry and the definition of criteria for the inclusion of certain platforms in it.
The changing legislation solves the issue of unscrupulous sellers, Maxim Chirkov, associate professor of the Department of Economic Policy and Economic Measurements at the State University of Economics, told Izvestia.
— The marketplace provides an opportunity to sell to hundreds of thousands of suppliers. It is very important that both Russian and foreign suppliers comply with the laws of the Russian Federation, and foreigners may sometimes be unaware of certain features of Russian legislation," the economist explained.
The share of marketplaces in the Russian economy
Platforms today generate up to 5% of Russia's GDP, and by 2030 this figure may double, Pavel Sevostyanov, acting State Councilor of the Russian Federation, Candidate of Political Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Political Analysis and Socio-Psychological Processes at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, told Izvestia. In the online trading segment, the share of marketplaces exceeds 70%, and digital services process millions of transactions per day.
— There are still problems in the current situation. First, regulation can slow down innovation if it is overly strict. Secondly, there is a risk of conflict of interest between the government, platforms and users. Thirdly, the issue of cross—border activity of platforms and data exchange has not been resolved," the expert noted. According to him, successful development requires a balanced approach and protection of the interests of all participants while maintaining flexibility for technological growth.
Linda Ryzhykh, Associate Professor of the Department of Management at the Presidential Academy in St. Petersburg, in an interview with Izvestia, drew attention to the fact that effective anti-counterfeiting mechanisms still remain to be built. Copyright holders cannot promptly track fakes and seek their removal, and the system of fines does not work: almost all violations are assessed equally, regardless of their scale and consequences.
— As a result, it is sometimes more profitable for large marketplaces to break the law than to comply with it. In addition, sellers are not protected from interference by platforms in their pricing policy — this violates the principles of fair competition," the expert said.
In the current version, these laws are the skeleton and prototype of what should work in a year. The deadline for their entry into force is scheduled for October 1, 2026, an expert from the Popular Front noted in an interview with Izvestia. Analytics" by Roman Chikun. During this time, the platforms will have to prepare for the implementation of the new rules, and the government will have to adopt a number of subordinate regulations that will regulate certain issues.
— Mechanisms for maintaining the platform registry should be created, and the list and procedure for verifying information should be defined. It is important to specify the minimum amounts of preferences for implementing partners who voluntarily entered into a relationship on compulsory pension and social insurance, establish an exchange with tax authorities and approve the rules of control and supervision," he said.
The new rules establish conditions for the legal interaction of the self-employed with digital platforms, help protect them and combat shadow employment when labor relations are disguised under this status.
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