Digital Marketing Ethics in the Age of AI: A Comparative Analysis of Transparency and Consumer Trust in E-Commerce Platforms

The increasing integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in e-commerce has transformed digital marketing strategies, particularly through personalized recommendation systems. However, this advancement has raised ethical concerns regarding data privacy, algorithmic transparency, and consumer autonomy. In Southeast Asia, where digital platforms rapidly expand, these concerns become more complex due to diverse regulatory landscapes and user expectations. This study aims to analyze and compare the transparency of AI-based recommendation systems across three major e-commerce platforms in the region: Shopee, Lazada, and Tokopedia. A qualitative comparative approach was employed using content analysis of official policy documents, including privacy policies and AI guidelines, sourced from each platform between January and March 2024. The analysis utilized LLM-assisted text mining and thematic coding to identify ethical indicators such as algorithmic transparency, user control, and policy readability. The results reveal significant variation in ethical practices: Shopee scored the highest in all dimensions, including algorithmic transparency (score: 9/10), user control (8/10), and policy readability (9/10). Lazada ranked moderately with scores of 6/10, 4/10, and 6/10 respectively, while Tokopedia scored lowest with 3/10 for transparency, 0/10 for user control, and 4/10 for readability. These disparities indicate that ethical communication and user empowerment remain uneven across platforms. This study contributes to the discourse on digital ethics by highlighting the need for regional standards in AI transparency and promoting user-centric ethical design. The findings provide valuable insights for policymakers, platform designers, and digital consumers navigating trust in algorithm-driven environments.