Recently, a whistleblower said that when she was seeking rights protection, she found that a company in Guangzhou claimed to be able to provide services such as paid "media release". As long as the payment ranged from 2,000 to 7,000 yuan, it could help customers successfully defend their rights and realize the appeal.
The reporter's investigation found that the Guangzhou company did not have the relevant qualifications for news editing and Internet information release, nor would it verify the authenticity of the information provided by customers.
There are many similar companies on the Internet. They all use "news coverage" as a gimmick and provide paid services similar to "media release".
The "pay and report" company
2,000 yuan for continuous reporting a week, 5,000 yuan for follow-up reporting for half a year
Recently, Ms. Wang from Shanxi Province broke the news to reporters that when she sought rights protection for an e-commerce course dispute, she found that there was a Guangzhou-based "Cloud Communication Culture Media Co., Ltd." (hereinafter referred to as "Cloud Communication") that claimed to provide services such as news release. , so as to help customers protect their rights.
After getting in touch with the company, she received the materials provided by the other party, such as the "Introduction to Media Report Charges", the official website address and past cases.
But Ms Wang said it was the material that made "they feel like liars".
The company's so-called "major media"
No editorial qualifications
According to the official website of “Cloud Communication”, it was established in Guangzhou and its address is located in Jinmao Building, Airport Road.
Since 2012, "Cloud Communication" has carried out news reports, rights protection event reports, marketing planning, event marketing, entertainment star packaging and other businesses.
The reporter contacted the "Cloud Communication" company through its official website phone number, and expressed willingness to pay for reporting as a customer, hoping that it could provide company qualifications and relevant reporting cases.
A staff member of WeChat named "Internet Media" told reporters that he could add his colleague QQ and let him introduce in detail.
Subsequently, the reporter got in touch with the QQ staff named "News Release".
The other party claimed to be Liu Qiang, the business manager of Guangzhou Cloud Communication Culture Media Co., Ltd.
He sent reporters a breakdown of charges for media coverage.
It shows that for a payment of 2,000 yuan, the cloud communication company will carry out continuous reports on major media and social platforms for about a week; for a payment of 5,000 yuan, the company will conduct follow-up reports for up to 6 months, and once the manuscript is deleted, it will be reported. Continue to post supplements.
In addition, the company provides on-site interview services, and clients are required to pay 7,000 yuan in travel expenses in addition to the press release fee.
The reporter noticed that the company's interpretation of "major media" is portal websites such as Tencent, Sina, Sohu, NetEase, and Phoenix.com, not news media with editorial qualifications.
According to Manager Liu, except for reports that require on-site interviews, all other types of reports need to be settled at one time.
He said that the client needs to provide the information required for the report, including but not limited to an overview of the rights protection event itself, key physical evidence, and relevant photos.
After all the information is sent, he will provide the financial account number or payment code for settlement.
Once the client pays, the staff organizes the material, rewrites the copy, and determines the "news" distribution platform.
In the selection of the "News" manuscript publishing platform, a "Summary of Manuscript Publishing Links Worth 5,000 Yuan" provided by Manager Liu shows that they published a "News" manuscript on March 29 on Baidu Tieba, Mala Community, There are more than 100 websites such as Sohu Focus Forum, Tianya Forum, Mommy Baby Forum, and 2D Fan Shop.
The reporter noticed that many links have been deleted.
The so-called "cultural media company"
Can't find the registration information
Whether the two parties sign a legal contract after purchasing the service.
Manager Liu said that it is not necessary to sign a contract. They will only sign a contract if the customer needs it.
Manager Liu sent a contract template to the reporter.
The contract stipulates that, as Party B, "Guangzhou Cloud Communication Culture Media Co., Ltd." takes advantage of its professional advantages in Internet technology to provide services such as news release and online promotion. The specific content is determined according to the information provided by the customer.
In the part of "Rights and Obligations of Both Parties", the agreement stipulates that the customer must provide the real news release information content. Since the authenticity of the matter cannot be verified by the cloud communication company, the legal responsibility for the information content shall be borne by the customer.
However, when the reporter inquired on the national enterprise credit information publicity platform, he did not find the information of "Guangzhou Cloud Communication Culture Media Co., Ltd.". At noon on March 31, the staff of the Guangzhou Market Supervision and Administration Bureau confirmed to the reporter that "Guangzhou Cloud Communication Co., Ltd." "Communication Culture Media Co., Ltd." is not in the file system of the Market Supervision Administration.
There are many similar companies
She lost 5,000 yuan for believing the "media" who paid for rights protection
However, in the publicity cases provided by the cloud communication company, there are many parties who deny that they have purchased the so-called "media publishing" paid service.
In addition, the reporter's investigation found that many advertisements providing "media publishing" paid services can be found on Baidu search engine with "media rights protection" as the keyword.
Manager Liu said the company had "reported" on a number of customer rights protection incidents, many of which were posted on his QQ space as "propaganda cases".
The reporter got in touch with the parties involved in 4 of the publicity "cases".
Among them, Ms. Zhai and Mr. Sun from Henan Province were the parties to a housing lease contract dispute and a land dispute respectively. They told reporters that they posted on their own through social platforms and did not contact any intermediary agencies.
At the same time, Manager Liu told reporters that on March 29, 2022, they had just provided media coverage services for a Mr. Li who was caught in a medical dispute.
However, when the reporter called Mr. Li, the other party responded that although he contacted We Media for help, he did not pay any fees.
Ms. Yang, a party to another economic dispute case, said that although she did not reach a service intention with the cloud communication company, she was "swindled" of 5,000 yuan by another company in a similar way.
Ms. Yang introduced that in September last year, when she was looking for rights protection services on a search engine, she noticed an advertisement for a paid report published by a cultural media company in Wuhan.
The chat records provided by Ms. Yang showed that she had transferred 5,000 yuan to the company, and the other party promised to be responsible for long-term "reporting" until Ms. Yang's case was resolved.
However, after the payment, the other party revised the "news" manuscript according to Ms. Yang's wishes, but did not provide her with a link to the manuscript.
Ms. Yang then contacted the company's staff several times, but the other party did not reply.
What is the size of the paid service organization for this type of "media release"?
The reporters searched on the Internet with "media rights protection" as the keyword, and the top ranking companies were all companies that provided "paid reporting" services.
The reporter found that the web pages of such companies are highly similar in style, and the paid "reports" all cover medical malpractice, land disputes, economic disputes and traffic accidents, and the charging price ranges from 1,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan.
Lawyer's statement
or suspected of illegal business operations, etc.
Is it illegal for such companies to provide paid reporting services?
Are the contracts it signs with customers legally binding?
Attorney Lan Lanbin, a partner of Jiangsu Fade Dongheng Law Firm, said that the "Cloud Communication" company is not qualified to publish news, and the information released deviates from the client's requirements. It is suspected of using fraudulent means to cause the client to violate his true intentions. If a contract is concluded under certain circumstances, it is a modifiable and revocable contract. Although it has legal effect, the client has the right to request the people's court or an arbitration institution to modify or revoke the contract.
Yin Bo, associate professor of the Academy of Criminal Law Science of Beijing Normal University and vice-chairman of the News Supervision and Behavior Professional Committee, analyzed that the "Cloud Communication" company is engaged in business without permission because it cannot find industrial and commercial information on the national enterprise credit information publicity system. Internet information services violated the provisions of the "Administrative Measures for Internet Information Services" on commercial Internet information services, "violating the provisions shall result in the invalidation of the contract."
Regarding the company's contract stating that it has no obligation to verify the authenticity of the released information, Yinbo said that Article 13 of the "Regulations on the Administration of Internet News Information Services" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") stipulates that "Internet information service providers shall provide Internet users with good and guarantee the legality of the information provided”, while “Cloud Communication” company “excludes its own obligations stipulated by laws and regulations, which is illegal.”
Attorney Lin Xiaoming, a partner of Sichuan Yishang Law Firm, said that according to the relevant provisions of the "Regulations" on the release of false information, "If the organization publishes false information for a fee, it may also constitute an insult or slander to others, infringing on others' reputation, privacy, etc. interests, which need to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis, and criminal responsibility may be pursued if a crime is constituted.”
Lawyer Lan Lan Bin told reporters that according to the judicial interpretation, in violation of state regulations, for the purpose of profit, it provides paid information deletion services through the information network, or knowingly it is false information, provides paid services such as publishing information through the information network, disrupts the market order, and is illegal for individuals. If the amount of business operation is more than 50,000 yuan, or the amount of illegal income is more than 20,000 yuan; if the amount of illegal business operation of a unit is more than 150,000 yuan, or the amount of illegal income is more than 50,000 yuan, it is an illegal business operation with "serious circumstances". Conviction and punishment for the crime of illegal business operation.
"That is to say, if the company knows that it is false information, and provides and publishes information for a fee through the information network, if the circumstances are serious, it is suspected of illegal business operations. If the information released is true, then it must be evaluated carefully, and cannot be easily evaluated as a crime."
Chengdu Business Daily-Red Star News reporter Chen Yifan Pan Junwen intern Chen Pengduo