Selling various "you know" products and passing the review in seconds are useless.
Banned items are rampant on second-hand trading platforms
● Whether private sales are explicitly prohibited by laws and regulations or prohibited by second-hand trading platforms in their rules, transactions of these prohibited items are rampant on second-hand platforms.
● The platform has set up prohibited words. If the information posted by a trader contains prohibited words, the items will not be released directly. During the communication between buyers and sellers, if prohibited words are triggered, the system will also prompt you. However, in practice, the existing platform review rules seem to have many "loopholes" that can be exploited.
● There are also some very obvious descriptions of illegal products, which have not been taken seriously by the platform review. For example, prescription drugs are prohibited items, but the item release information directly states "cold medicine" and "fever medicine", and there is no blockage at the time of release. Even 24 hours after release, the relevant item links have not been processed by the platform.
● On the basis of strictly complying with the e-commerce law and other relevant regulations and fulfilling compliance obligations, the platform should appropriately raise the entry threshold, increase the supervision of sellers and products for sale, and continue to explore and improve the review methods and review of illegal and illegal information. Mechanism to improve data tracking capabilities
□ Our reporter Sun Tianjiao
"It's given by the hospital. You can't use it all. If you want to talk privately, you can ask for it."
"Second-hand motorcycle license plate holder, if you understand it, you will understand it naturally. If you understand it, please contact us."
…
"Rule of Law Daily" reporters recently found many similar vague descriptions of items when browsing multiple second-hand trading platforms. What exactly do you “know”? With doubts, the reporter contacted multiple sellers and found that the items corresponding to the above descriptions were prescription drugs and fake license plates for motorcycles and cars. The sale of these items is expressly prohibited by laws, regulations and platforms.
In recent years, the emergence of second-hand trading platforms has provided many people with new channels to deal with idle items. However, reporters’ investigations over the past few days have found that it is common to sell illegal goods on second-hand trading platforms, including fakes, pirated copies, baby milk powder, prescription drugs, etc., as well as items involving pornography and vulgarity, infringing on other people’s privacy, promoting feudal superstition, etc., and more What's more, police equipment, fake certificates, etc. can also be retrieved through code words, which has become a hidden danger affecting the stability of social order and consumer safety.
Many interviewed experts believe that due to the openness, information aggregation and virtuality of online platforms, as well as the low entry threshold for sellers, second-hand trading platforms may be used by criminals to sell illegal products, seriously damaging the electronics industry. The overall business operating environment should be resolutely investigated and banned.
Disguised listing of prohibited items
Break the rules and violate the law
A bottle of anti-wolf spray the size of a keychain and a high-energy self-defense electric stick that combines strong light and electricity can be delivered to your home through ordinary logistics. And such item transactions occur on a certain second-hand trading platform.
On January 29, while browsing a second-hand trading platform, a reporter saw an item claiming to be "professional self-defense equipment." Clicking on the item link, there is very little information, only vague descriptions such as "self-defense", "professional" and "high intensity" and a picture: a pile of self-defense equipment, with the words "Details + v private chat (that is, add a private chat)" account)".
After adding the account as a friend, the reporter discovered that it specializes in selling various security equipment, and even has a "security" mark on many items. When asked by reporters, the other party directly recommended a 300 yuan combination package of a bottle of anti-wolf spray and an anti-wolf electric baton, and repeatedly promised: "The anti-wolf spray can pass the subway security check, and the electric baton is extremely powerful and can make people lose consciousness instantly. consciousness."
After the reporter selected the specific items, the seller sent a shopping link to a second-hand trading platform. The link showed that the item was "999 pure silver 100 grams" with a price tag of 300 yuan.
The seller also said that if the buyer only purchases 50 yuan of anti-wolf spray, they need to take a link to another item "Pikachu Little Bear".
The reporter checked the items sold by the seller and found that among the more than 100 items sold, images of items such as "Pikachu Little Bear" and "999 Pure Silver 100 Grams" appeared repeatedly. According to the seller, the 75 yuan "women's tattoo stickers" and the 190 yuan "vertical water dispenser" are all disguised as his "security business".
Selling security items on second-hand trading platforms is not an isolated case. After searching with keywords such as "self-defense", the reporter found many suspicious items.
Experts pointed out that according to my country's relevant laws and regulations, the illegal manufacture and sale of guns, ammunition, explosives, controlled devices, etc. are strictly prohibited. High-intensity stun guns and anti-wolf spray should be classified as controlled devices. If the "self-defense equipment" is police equipment, etc., it cannot be bought or sold at will, otherwise it will be suspected of illegal crimes.
In addition, many items that should not exist on second-hand trading platforms can also be found randomly.
The reporter searched for the keyword "license plate" on a second-hand trading platform. The search results showed that there were many items that were described as "license plates are available all over the country." The reporter further consulted the seller and found that the seller was selling fake license plates, including car and motorcycle license plates, with prices ranging from 50 yuan to 350 yuan depending on the type of license plate. Sellers can also make fake motor vehicle driving licenses. One seller vowed: "With this license plate, it will be no problem to cross the highway and enter the parking lot. With the driving license, the traffic police will not be able to see it. If the money is enough, the driving license will be fine." It can be done too.”
The reporter then sent the sample picture sent by the seller to a traffic policeman. The traffic policeman said that the font of the driving license was obviously wrong and it was "fake at first glance". In traffic law enforcement work, it is easy to detect fake license plates and vehicles with fake license plates. The use of forged or altered motor vehicle license plates is a traffic violation that is severely punished. This kind of production and sale of fake licenses will also be punished by the public security organs. Investigate.
When searching for related luxury bags and watches on a second-hand trading platform, not only can you see "knockoffs" priced at several hundred yuan, but some sellers even put up slogans saying "High-end watches, all styles are available. If you have a picture, I will have it." ".
The reporter noticed that although it is difficult to find related items by directly searching for "cigarettes" and "e-cigarettes" on the second-hand trading platform, there are a large number of merchants selling cigarette boxes on the second-hand trading platform. After further exchanges, many "cigarette box collections" Home" said that cigarettes can also be sold directly. In addition, the reporter directly searched for the brand name of e-cigarettes or cartridges, and the search results showed a large number of e-cigarette products, including fruit-flavored e-cigarettes that are banned by the state.
There are a large number of opened but unfinished infant milk powder, prescription drugs prescribed by hospitals, famous wines claimed to be "authentic factory production", and various food and drugs of unknown origin... whether they are prohibited from private sale by laws and regulations, or on second-hand trading platforms The rules prohibit publication, and trading of these illegal products is rampant on second-hand platforms.
There are still loopholes in the platform audit
Use code words to evade supervision
The reporter learned from consulting the customer service of relevant platforms that currently second-hand trading platforms mainly use system review and manual review for item information released by sellers. According to a staff member of a second-hand trading platform, the so-called system review means that on the one hand, the platform has set up prohibited words. If the information posted by a trader contains prohibited words, his items will not be released. On the other hand, during the communication between buyers and sellers, if prohibited words are triggered, the system will also prompt. Manual review will "patrol" the platform item information. When sensitive words are found or relevant reports are received, the reviewers will conduct further verification and processing.
However, in practice, the existing platform review rules seem to have many "loopholes" that can be exploited.
When a reporter tried to publish an item on a second-hand trading platform and filled in "Police Uniforms and Military Uniforms" in the item description and submitted for publication, the system automatically popped up a window showing "According to the "Military Uniform Management Regulations", inappropriate descriptions such as military uniforms, military supplies, military products, etc. are not allowed." Therefore such items cannot be published. And if you fill in "anti-wolf electric baton and anti-wolf spray", "Prohibited sale of controlled equipment" will be displayed directly at the top of the page.
However, reporters only need to briefly process the above text expressions, and the overall meaning remains unchanged, so they can be published smoothly. And the pictures can be chosen at will. After clicking the publish button, the item link will pass the review in seconds and "successfully published" will be displayed.
There are also some very obvious descriptions of illegal products that have not been taken seriously by the platform review. For example, prescription drugs are illegal products, but the reporter directly stated "cold medicine" and "fever medicine" in the item release information, and was not blocked in any way when posting the items. Even 24 hours after the release, the relevant item links were not blocked by the platform. deal with. Another example is e-cigarettes that are banned from sale by individuals. As long as you specify a certain brand, you can find a large number of e-cigarettes of that brand for sale, and the pictures are of actual e-cigarettes.
It is worth noting that as early as 2021, the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Commission released a consumer survey report revealing the sales of illegal products on second-hand trading platforms. Afterwards, the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Commission conducted online collective and public interviews with the 12 second-hand trading platforms involved in response to the problems discovered in the second-hand trading platform consumption survey. 12 platforms stated that they would strengthen rectification in aspects such as standardizing the information release mechanism within the platform and strengthening the review of user qualifications within the platform.
In addition, on many second-hand trading platforms, when users register an account and list related items, they will be asked to confirm the community rules, and the rules list the illegal items in detail. For example, a second-hand trading platform combined laws and regulations and listed 13 categories of prohibited products in the "Community Information Release Standards", including pornographic and vulgar products, involving personal privacy, security, etc.
On the one hand, the second-hand trading platform has set up publishing rules and review mechanisms, but on the other hand, illegal products are still being sold. In this regard, Wu Di, deputy secretary-general of the Beijing Lawyers Law Research Association, believes that the proliferation of illegal products on the second-hand trading platform is alarming. Concerns highlight the shortcomings of supervision and platform management. This not only damages the rights and interests of consumers, but also poses a threat to social order. All sectors of society should pay more attention to second-hand trading platforms and jointly promote the establishment of a safer and more transparent trading environment to ensure market order and public safety.
So, what responsibilities do sellers have to bear when selling illegal products on second-hand trading platforms?
Professor Ren Chao, deputy dean of the School of Economics and Law at East China University of Political Science and Law, believes that there are certain differences between buying and selling on second-hand trading platforms and normal online shopping. Not all purchase and sale disputes that occur between users on second-hand trading platforms are subject to the Consumer Rights Protection Law, because the Consumer Rights Protection Law regulates the relationship between operators and consumers. The so-called operators are engaged in the production, sale of goods or services. The provision of services should be continuous, but the original intention of establishing a second-hand trading platform is to provide a channel for individual sellers to sell idle items. Therefore, many second-hand item transactions are sporadic. In this way, the Consumer Rights Protection Law cannot be applied to relevant disputes. Instead, it will be handled as a general civil contract or tort dispute.
"Therefore, regarding the liability of sellers and platforms, it is necessary to judge whether they are operators based on the nature and frequency of the goods services they provide on the second-hand trading platform. If they are operators, the Consumer Rights Protection Law can be applied. But if it is just an ordinary and occasional seller, it can only be adjusted by applying civil legal regulations." Ren Chao said.
Zhang Guodong, managing partner of Beijing Jincheng Tongda Law Firm, believes that according to relevant laws and regulations, sellers who sell illegal products on second-hand trading platforms should bear corresponding civil responsibilities, administrative responsibilities and even criminal responsibilities. Second-hand trading platforms need to bear corresponding legal responsibilities stipulated in the Cybersecurity Law and E-Commerce Law depending on the circumstances. They may be ordered by relevant departments to make corrections within a time limit, be warned, and fined. In serious cases, they may be ordered to suspend relevant business, suspend operations for rectification, or close down. website, revoke relevant business licenses or revoke business licenses, etc. In addition, depending on the specific circumstances of the sale of illegal products and whether the second-hand trading platform is aware of or even assists in the sale of illegal products, second-hand trading platforms may also face the risk of bearing relevant criminal liability.
Consolidate responsibilities and strengthen supervision
Improve data tracking capabilities
The interviewed experts gave their own suggestions on how to deal with the chaos of banned items on second-hand trading platforms.
In Ren Chao's view, although the platform has set ban on sales, considering the extremely high profits from selling these illegal products, many people take desperate risks driven by profits. Although second-hand trading platforms generally have banned word filtering systems, sellers circumvent the platform's filtering system by using fuzzy descriptions and codeword prompts, or they print real services in text on pictures on the details page, resulting in bans on the platform. The word filter system is difficult to identify. At the same time, the entry threshold for sellers on many platforms is low. Some platforms even adopt a first-in-first-out mechanism and do not have a strict evaluation and punishment system for sellers. Even if these sellers are reported, they cannot handle users’ reporting information in a timely manner. The seller imposes substantial penalties.
“It should be noted that the second-hand trading platform itself has the characteristics of dispersed links and hidden transactions. For example, sellers store prohibited videos on network disks and then conduct transactions through external social software. This kind of cross-platform governance is very difficult, and it also affects second-hand transactions. Platform supervision has put forward higher requirements." Ren Chao said.
Ren Chao believes that on the basis of the e-commerce law, relevant standards for second-hand trading platforms should be introduced as soon as possible, and relevant rules including information release, user qualification review, return and exchange rules, fund security and consumer rights protection should be further improved to strengthen the supervision of the industry. Supervision and restraint of illegal activities, improve the level of industry governance, and promote the healthy development of the industry.
"The entry threshold for second-hand trading platforms must be raised, and sellers must be strictly reviewed when applying to join the platform. The threshold for entering the platform cannot be made useless." Ren Chao said that it is necessary to continuously improve the platform's technology to capture illegal product propaganda, and lay a good foundation A sniper war with sellers of illegal products. In addition, the platform's banned word filtering technology often cannot keep up with the speed at which sellers of illegal products take new evasive measures. It also needs to rely on buyers' complaints. The platform must build and ensure smooth complaint channels and handle user complaints in a timely manner. Penalties for sellers of illegal products must be implemented. Red and black lists and seller integrity evaluation mechanisms can be established on the platform. Punishment measures such as platform public lists and reduced algorithm recommendations can be adopted for users who violate laws and regulations.
Zhang Guodong also believes that on the basis of strictly fulfilling compliance obligations in accordance with the E-commerce Law and other relevant laws and regulations, the platform should appropriately raise the entry threshold, at the same time increase the supervision of sellers and products for sale, and continue to explore and improve information on violations of laws and regulations. audit methods and mechanisms to improve data tracking capabilities. Relevant law enforcement agencies should continue to intensify their efforts to crack down on related illegal and criminal activities using second-hand trading platforms as tools, and eliminate the chaotic sales of illegal products from the source. At the same time, relevant departments should strengthen legal education to the public so that more people know what items can be bought and sold and what items cannot be bought and sold, so as to reduce illegal acts due to "ignorance".
"It is recommended to formulate relevant rules for second-hand trading platforms, clarify the regulatory responsibilities of administrative departments, and establish a cooperative supervision system between administrative departments and second-hand trading platforms." Zhang Guodong said.
Wu Di believes that platforms should actively communicate and cooperate with law enforcement agencies to cooperate in the investigation and crackdown on violations. Establish an information sharing mechanism and form a cooperation system for joint prevention and control. At the same time, platforms should conduct more stringent verification of sellers’ identities to ensure that sellers understand and comply with laws and regulations. Strengthen the training of sellers, enhance their legal awareness and sense of responsibility, and reduce the occurrence of violations.
"The proliferation of illegal products on second-hand trading platforms is a complex and serious problem that requires joint efforts from all parties in society to form an effective governance mechanism through a combination of legal means, technical means and industry self-discipline. Only in this way can social order be effectively maintained , protect the legitimate rights and interests of buyers and sellers." Wu Di said. (Legal Daily)