Compliance Essentials for Livestream and Social Selling in Malaysia: Disclosure, Product Registration and Sponsorship Labelling

Selling on TikTok Live, Facebook Live, Instagram or Shopee Live is not a lawless zone in Malaysia. As soon as you facilitate a transaction by electronic means, you are governed by three sets of rules at once: the Consumer Protection (Electronic Trade Transactions) Regulations of the competent authority KPDN (Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living); the registration and claim rules of the product's own competent authority; and the Content Code and advertising-disclosure requirements of the MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission). "Livestreaming" does not make your disclosure or labelling obligations disappear—if anything, its real-time, spoken, impulse-purchase nature makes it easier to cross the line.

Who regulates and what (three layers of rules)

Livestream/social selling compliance must be viewed as three layers together; miss any one and you may face a complaint or penalty:

Mandatory seller disclosure (Electronic Trade Regulations 2024)

The Consumer Protection (Electronic Trade Transactions) Regulations 2024 (CPETTR 2024) took effect on 25 December 2024, replacing the 2012 version, and cover both online marketplaces and sellers selling through social platforms. Key change: mandatory disclosure information must be presented in Bahasa Malaysia (Malay), with other languages only "added to" it, not "replacing" it. During a livestream or on the product page, the seller should make the following information available to consumers:

• Seller/business name and registration number (SSM or ID number, as the case may be)
• Email, phone and business address
• Description of the goods or services, and the total price including all charges
• Accepted payment methods, terms of the transaction and estimated delivery time
• The product's safety/hygiene certification (if required for that category)

In addition, sellers must bear the reshipping cost for defective or wrongly shipped goods, provide a mechanism to correct errors before and after ordering, confirm orders promptly, and keep transaction records. Breaching the relevant provisions of the consumer-protection law can incur fines and legal liability, with heavier penalties for repeat offenders.

The product itself must be compliant first (you cannot bypass it via livestreaming)

Livestreaming is only a channel and does not exempt product registration. Before you start selling, confirm:

• Food: ordinary food is exempt from registration but its labelling must comply with the Food Regulations 1985; special items (such as infant formula) have additional rules.
• Cosmetics: must complete NPRA notification (obtain the notification); livestream commentary must not make therapeutic claims.
• Health supplements/traditional medicines: must hold a MAL registration number; efficacy claims are strictly limited.
• Electrical: must hold an Energy Commission (ST) Certificate of Approval (CoA); toys require SIRIM certification.

Selling on a livestream without completing registration amounts to "selling an unregistered product"—a far greater risk than missing one labelling item.

Common livestream breaches

• Verbally shouting unapproved therapeutic claims such as "cures illness, anti-cancer, lose 5 kg in a week" (especially fatal for cosmetics and supplements).
• Speaking only Chinese/English, without providing the mandatory disclosure information in Malay.
• Collecting payment through a personal account, not disclosing the business name and registration number, leaving consumers with no recourse.
• Not labelling sponsored content, breaching the MCMC Content Code.

Advertising disclosure and KOL responsibility

Under the MCMC Content Code and ASA standards, sponsorship must be clearly disclosed—it is advisable to mark clear wording such as "Ad" or "Sponsored" at the start of the post or in the first 3 seconds of the video, avoiding vague terms like "Spon," "Collab" or "thanks." The disclosure language should match the post (a Malay post uses Malay disclosure). Note: the brand and the influencer (KOL) share responsibility—if an unapproved therapeutic claim is made, the Medicine Advertisements Board (MAB) can open a case against both. Before engaging a KOL for a livestream, write the boundaries of what may / may not be said into the contract.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Q: I'm just an individual selling in an FB group—do I have to comply with these rules too? As long as you sell for business purposes by electronic means, you fall within the scope of the electronic-trade regulations. Small amounts or being off-platform does not mean exemption; disclosure of identity and contact details, product compliance, and no false claims all apply.

Q: Do claims made verbally during a livestream also count as breaches? Yes. Spoken commentary, subtitles and comment-section wording are all part of the advertising content, and unapproved therapeutic claims are not excused for being "verbal"—platform recordings can also serve as evidence.

Q: For livestreaming imported products, are the disclosure obligations different? The core disclosure is the same, but you must also confirm the imported product has completed that category's registration/notification in Malaysia and is held by a lawful importer/holder—otherwise it is selling an unregistered product.

Q: Must I use Malay? Are Chinese and English acceptable? The 2024 regulations require mandatory disclosure information to be presented in Malay; Chinese and English may be added as extra translations but cannot replace the Malay version.

Q: What happens if I don't label "sponsored"? You may breach the MCMC Content Code and advertising standards, and both brand and KOL may be complained about, fined or restricted from using the platform; if therapeutic claims are involved, penalties are heavier.

Self-check checklist

• [ ] Product page/livestream makes available seller name, registration number, contact details, business address (including in Malay)
• [ ] Product has completed that category's registration/notification, with a lawful importer or holder
• [ ] Script boundaries are set—no unapproved therapeutic or exaggerated claims
• [ ] Sponsored content is clearly disclosed at the start / in the first 3 seconds
• [ ] Orders and transaction records are kept

Conclusion

Livestream-selling compliance is all three layers in place at once: "transaction disclosure × product registration × advertising content." Preparing disclosure information, product registration and script boundaries before you go live is far more worthwhile than being complained about, taken down and fined afterwards.

Run a free label check now

This article is compiled from official sources for reference only; actual compliance is subject to the latest official texts and reviews of the competent authorities.

Further reading: Malaysia market-entry roadmap, Red lines on cosmetic claim wording, Red lines on health supplement claims, The most common reasons labels are rejected.