Belarus prepares legislation on digital platforms

Belarus is developing draft legislation on digital intermediary platforms. A working group set up at the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade (MART) is preparing the organisational and legal framework for their operation. The National Legal Internet Portal reported this on 19 October 2026, citing the Belarusian news agency BELTA. For the franchising sector, the initiative is particularly relevant to sales and customer service through marketplaces, aggregators and delivery services.

Which relationships will the law regulate?

Iryna Shpak, Deputy Head of the Trade and Catering Organisation Directorate and Head of the Methodology Department at MART, discussed the proposed legislation on the STV television channel. She said the draft would establish the basic framework for digital intermediary platforms operating in Belarus.

The proposals primarily concern online marketplaces, aggregators and delivery services. The legislation will also set out the main principles governing platform operators’ relationships with two groups of users: businesses — sellers and service providers — and consumers.

The proposed scope therefore extends beyond purchases made on a marketplace. It also covers relationships with service providers working through digital intermediaries. Franchise businesses using these channels should monitor not only platforms’ consumer-facing rules, but also the future terms governing their dealings with businesses.

For now, however, the legislation is still being drafted: these are not requirements already in force. The announced areas of work should not be treated as existing obligations for sellers, service providers or platform operators. It is important to distinguish between preparing a legal framework and applying rules once they have been formally adopted.

Transparency, competition and user protection

MART identifies transparency and predictability in digital platform operators’ activities as one of the draft’s main objectives. The ministry links the need for regulation to the substantial role these platforms already play in the Belarusian economy and their significant influence on it.

For businesses, predictability means being able to understand the terms on which they operate through a digital intermediary. The announcement specifically highlights platforms’ relationships with sellers and service providers: businesses are treated as a distinct group of users, rather than merely as part of the chain serving the customer.

A second area of work is creating a safe digital environment and promoting competition on platforms. A third focus is protecting users’ rights and legitimate interests. These objectives form part of a single legislative initiative, so viewing it solely as a change to online retail rules would be too narrow.

For the franchising sector, it is important to distinguish the stated aims from the specific measures that may follow. Transparency, safety and competition are guiding principles for the draft. On their own, they do not yet provide a basis for conclusions about future platform commissions, payment arrangements, the parties’ liabilities or the financial performance of an individual franchise outlet.

What is proposed for foreign platforms?

A separate part of the initiative concerns significant foreign digital platforms. Shpak said the draft envisages mechanisms to regulate these platforms, oversee their activities and ensure comprehensive protection for Belarusian consumers.

In particular, it proposes requiring them to establish a legal entity or branch in Belarus. According to the MART representative, the government will subsequently determine the requirements governing their activities. This is one of the specific measures disclosed at the current drafting stage.

Two qualifications matter here. First, the announced provision concerns significant foreign platforms: it should not automatically be assumed to apply to every overseas online platform. Second, it is a provision in a draft, not an announcement that the obligation is already in force.

Franchise businesses should keep this initiative in mind when monitoring regulatory developments, but it is no substitute for reviewing existing contracts. The proposed requirement for a local legal entity or branch does not, by itself, imply any change to the terms between a particular seller and a particular platform.

What should franchisors and franchisees review?

Practical preparation can begin with a list of the digital intermediaries through which a network or individual outlet receives orders. It is useful to distinguish between marketplaces, aggregators and delivery services, then identify who is party to each contract: the franchisor, the franchisee or another legal entity.

The next step is to record the current terms of those relationships. A review checklist could include procedures for changing terms, payment arrangements, complaints handling and the allocation of responsibility towards customers. These are not new obligations arising from the draft legislation, but a way to establish a clear baseline for comparison with any rules ultimately adopted.

When assessing the initiative, businesses should also maintain the distinction between relationships within a franchise network and relationships with a digital platform operator. The announced draft concerns platforms and their users; there is no basis for treating it as a specific change to franchising rules.

Practical takeaway: while the legislation is being developed, franchisors and franchisees should review their contractual arrangements with digital intermediaries and monitor official decisions. It is too early to restructure a business on the basis of assumptions about future requirements.