Some merchants are keen to display offline consumption live online in the form of short videos or live broadcasts to attract more customers.
[Focus on consumer worries around you ⑤] Consumers are dissatisfied with being used by merchants as “drainage props” for online marketing
Our newspaper, Beijing, March 24 (Reporter Liu Xiaoyan) "The old man was photographed while eating. I didn't think much about it at the time, but I didn't know it would be posted online." Today, Ms. Li, who lives in Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, told " A reporter from Workers' Daily reported that two elderly people at home were recently videoed by a store owner while dining in a restaurant, and then the store owner posted the video on a short video platform without the elderly people's knowledge, which made them feel very annoyed.
Ms. Li said: "We only found out that the video of the elderly dining was publicly released after a relative saw it on the short video platform and told us." In Ms. Li's view, this behavior of the store violated the privacy of the elderly. In the end, after Ms. Li communicated many times, the store deleted the video.
Many consumers reported to reporters that when consuming offline, they often passively act as "traffic props" for merchants to shoot short videos or live broadcast rooms, or even "atmosphere groups" and "tool people". The reporter learned through interviews that some businesses believe this is to provide consumers with a more realistic scene display.
"We are live broadcasting at the store in Hefei Vientiane City. What we have arranged for you today is hair care essential oil, which is extremely suitable for permed and dyed hair." At 18:00 on March 8, a product anchor was introducing products on a short video platform. The scene in the video is a real-time view of the store. From time to time, customers who enter the store to make purchases "break into" the live broadcast room footage.
The anchor told reporters that the live broadcast in offline stores is to let netizens feel the atmosphere of shopping in a physical store. “Because we are a real live broadcast room, we don’t just have the anchor’s head and the green screen.” When a reporter asked whether offline consumers would be asked for permission to be in the camera, the anchor thought, “Just like on the street, you can accidentally enter someone else’s room.” The shots are the same, so it’s impossible for everyone to ask.”
With the accelerated integration of online and offline consumption scenarios, many stores are keen to display live offline consumption on the Internet in the form of short videos or live broadcasts to attract more customers, but they do not pay attention to the privacy rights of consumers. Violate. In recent years, this phenomenon has attracted the attention of courts and consumer associations. On March 15, the Higher People's Court of Jiangsu Province and the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Rights Protection Committee released the typical cases of consumer rights protection in the province in 2023. One of the cases pointed out that "videos are disclosed without consent, and those who infringe their portraits should be held responsible."
In this regard, Yao Pengru, a lawyer at Sichuan Yingji Law Firm, believes that if consumers’ portraits, personal information and other legally protected rights and interests appear in live broadcasts or publicly released videos in offline stores, consumers should be solicited. After consent, if the consumer refuses, the infringing behavior should be stopped immediately and remedial measures such as deleting the playback should be taken.
"Live broadcasting in a public environment does not mean that the consent of others has been obtained. Even in a public environment, citizens' portraits and personal information are protected in accordance with the law. If the live broadcast involves the aforementioned rights and interests, the consent of the relevant rights holders is also required." Yao Pengru It said that merchants should improve their legal awareness, carry out publicity and promotion in accordance with the law, carry out online live broadcasts, video shooting and release activities, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of consumers in the process of constantly exploring new marketing models. (Worker Daily)