Some accept money but do not deliver goods, and some illegally recommend stocks.
Reporters investigate chaos in private sector consumption
Our reporter Wen Lijuan
□ Zhang Guanglong, an intern of this newspaper
She spent more than 2,000 yuan to order a high imitation Dior bag from the "fan group", but she didn't receive the goods for a week. She wanted to consult the seller but found that she had been kicked out of the group chat, which made Ms. Xin, a Beijing resident, very upset.
Some time ago, Ms. Xin frequently watched a type of live broadcast: the anchor wore clothes of major brands and carried brand bags, showing them in the live broadcast room, but would not introduce the products. Only the anchor assistant commented in the comment area, "It's not a counter." You can’t afford it by a thousand, but the live broadcast room is more cost-effective at a fraction of the price.” “How to buy? Click on the anchor’s avatar, click on follow, and join the fan group.”
Ms. Xin found through screen identification that these products did not seem to be much different from genuine products. In order to save money, she joined the anchor's fan group and placed an order. Not only did she not receive the goods, she couldn't even check the express delivery number, and she didn't know who to complain to.
With the diversification of e-commerce channels, the new online consumption scenario-private domain has become the new favorite for interaction between brands and consumers, bringing new business opportunities. However, reporters from the "Rule of Law Daily" found that there is no shortage of chaos in private consumption, such as false propaganda, no one to check professional qualifications, no supervision of product quality, and no guarantee of user information security. Statistics from the local market supervision department show that since last year, private e-commerce consumer rights protection has become a new area where the number of complaints has increased.
Experts interviewed pointed out that the private domain is a relatively closed consumption scenario, and it is often difficult for market regulators to "enter" to collect evidence. As a result, current private domain e-commerce consumer disputes are difficult to obtain evidence and the success rate of mediation is low. Source governance should be strengthened. , increase the supervision of channeling behaviors, especially establish mandatory supervision of private live broadcasts for the purpose of stakeholder marketing, and jointly maintain a healthy online consumption environment.
High imitation brands sell at extremely low prices
The reporter clicked into the live broadcast room introduced by Ms. But viewers are not free to comment. There is no product link in the live broadcast room, only the staff constantly reminding "all series are available, you can't even see it when you go to the counter" and "how to buy? Click to follow and join the fan group."
After joining the fan group, the reporter noticed that group members were prohibited from speaking in the group as well as in the live broadcast room. The administrator refreshed the screen and sent a social account to remind new fans to join the group.
After adding the anchor's account, the reporter saw in his circle of friends that the anchor sells a wide variety of products, including all kinds of brand-name bags, watches, shoes and clothing, etc., and attached a text introduction "We sell all the most authentic products."
In another live broadcast room that mainly introduced sportswear from a well-known brand, two anchors were dressed exquisitely. One showed the details of the clothes, and the other arranged the clothes beside him, neither of them spoke. There is also no product link in the live broadcast room, and it is also "only those who are followed can comment." After the reporter joined the group chat according to the staff's prompts, he found that the administrator was also repeatedly posting a social account, and then withdrew the information after almost two minutes. After the group members added their personal accounts, they were kicked out of the group chat.
After adding a friend, the other party sends a QR code, which covers all kinds of luxury brands and trendy brands. For example, international brands such as Gucci and Dior start at 300 yuan, and Balenciaga costs 99 yuan for three pieces.
When a reporter inquired about the price of a sports jacket from a popular big brand, he was told that "the event price is 326 yuan, just scan the QR code to pay." The price on the brand's official website is 3,200 yuan. When the reporter asked if there was a link to place an order, the other party replied, "There is no link to the replica product, but a warranty can be provided."
Industry insiders told reporters that this type of live broadcast room attracts consumers by displaying a large number of high-end products and then diverts them to the private domain of the platform, which is a means to avoid official platform supervision. The reason why there is no link may be that they have not applied for permission to carry goods from the official platform and want to conduct private transactions without third-party supervision. For consumers, through this type of private domain transactions, there is no proof of purchase. Once a dispute arises, it is difficult to find a merchant to defend their rights.
In addition to shopping, reporters have noticed that illegal provision of securities investment consulting services is also common in the private sector.
The reporter joined the fan groups of several financial anchors and found that they usually announce the start time and live broadcast room password in advance in the group to remind fans to watch. Most of the content of this kind of private live broadcast is financial knowledge and stock market analysis. Some anchors use this to attract traffic and sell goods, some anchors conduct misleading marketing promotions, and some anchors directly recommend stocks.
Circumvent regulation and gain profits
Why are more and more anchors introducing traffic into private domains?
Zhu Wei, deputy director of the Communication Law Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, analyzed that on the one hand, in order to escape the supervision of live broadcast platforms (e-commerce platforms), some products cannot be promoted in live broadcast rooms or short videos, such as financial, medical or general products. Ordinary food is treated as health care products, etc., because platforms now use AI to review live broadcast or video content, and focus on supervision of some illegal advertisements, such as three products and one device (drugs, medical devices, health foods and formula foods for special medical purposes) and food safety. . On the other hand, in order to avoid the platform's commission points, the platform will charge a certain commission based on the product type when the anchor brings goods. In order to earn more profits, the anchor may be inclined to introduce traffic into the private domain.
"The Advertising Law stipulates that some content in financial management, such as annualized rates, etc., cannot be promoted or released; in addition, the Food Safety Law also stipulates that ordinary food cannot be promoted according to the standards of health products." Zhu Wei said, private domain The sales model is very unfavorable for the protection of consumer rights and interests. This form lacks platform supervision and becomes point-to-point sales, payment, mailing, etc. like the micro-business model. Once problems arise, go to the platform and the platform may only bear the network responsibility. The responsibility of the service provider is not the responsibility of the e-commerce platform operator mentioned in the e-commerce law. At this time, it will be difficult for consumers to protect their rights through the platform.
"The private domain audience has been screened and has a certain degree of stickiness to the anchor or his products or services, which is more conducive to precise marketing. At the same time, the private domain is more conducive to the anchor's control of the scene, kicking out or muting opposition voices, and is conducive to his publicity . In addition, the private domain is more confidential. On the one hand, it can protect privacy, but on the other hand, it is subject to weaker supervision, which provides a breeding ground for activities that violate laws or skirt the law." said Du Xiujun, a lawyer at Beijing Zhongwen Law Firm.
In Du Xiujun’s view, as an emerging industry, private live broadcasting lacks supervision and regulatory laws and regulations and is still in the barbaric growth stage. “In an era when traffic is king, black and red can also be considered red. If there is traffic, there will be benefits. Many anchors fight for the law to gain traffic.” Playing on the sidelines, or breaking the moral bottom line. Illegal activities such as medical beauty fraud, health care product fraud, gambling, pornography and violence can all easily evade supervision through private domain live broadcasts."
Increase regulatory penalties
Experts interviewed pointed out that to regulate the stock recommendation behavior of online anchors, the platform and regulatory authorities should fulfill their responsibilities in reviewing qualifications and supervising operational content in the early stage; establishing and improving the platform’s review mechanism for accounts and apps that provide securities investment consulting services, so that “unlicensed” "The institutions and personnel have no window to engage in illegal stock recommendation activities. At the same time, supervision and penalties must be intensified, relevant personnel shall be held accountable, and typical cases of illegal stock recommendation shall be reported.
"For illegal stock recommendations in the private sector, securities firms must be promptly required to investigate the entire network and strictly regulate the behavior of securities operating institutions and personnel in the private sector; financial institutions must strengthen business regulations for personnel engaged in securities investment consulting; relevant law enforcement departments must also respond Illegal stock recommendation personnel should be investigated and dealt with in a timely manner; when the platform discovers illegal and criminal clues of 'draining' illegal stock recommendation, it should promptly send early warning notices to regulatory authorities and law enforcement departments and take measures to break the chain." Du Xiujun said.
He suggested that we should improve the laws and regulations on private domain live broadcasts and strengthen supervision; establish a differentiation mechanism between public domain live broadcasts and small-scale private domain communications; establish an effective platform supervision or third-party supervision mechanism for public domain private domain live broadcasts; focus on crackdowns Activities related to pornography, gambling and drugs, etc. that escape supervision through the private domain.
It is worth noting that when the reporter interviewed the relevant persons in charge of some public domain live broadcast platforms, they unanimously mentioned that they both hated and had nothing to do about the situation where some anchors were diverted to the private domain. “On the one hand, they cannot earn commissions and raise points; If problems arise, public opinion may attribute the responsibility to the platform."
In this regard, Du Xiujun believes that the platform can establish regulatory channels, especially the establishment of mandatory supervision of private domain live broadcasts for the purpose of stakeholder marketing, and can also intervene in the supervision of long-term or multi-frequency suspicious private domain live broadcasts with stakeholder types. At the same time, stakeholder-related live videos are retained for a certain period of time.
"For platforms, it is necessary to strengthen source governance and strengthen supervision of channeling behaviors. If anchors are found to have channeling behaviors, there must be relevant penalties such as bans, warnings, suspension of updates, and disbandment of fan groups. However, sometimes anchors are in the process of live broadcasting. China uses methods such as word-of-mouth broadcasting to attract traffic, but the platform currently does not have a good solution. For operations similar to micro-businesses in some technical chat tools, relevant supervision mechanisms must also be established. If there is no third party in a transaction, there will be no supervision by the platform. , it is definitely not feasible to just rely on self-discipline or deal with it after the fact." Zhu Wei said.
From the perspective of consumers and investors, interviewed experts suggested that we should try our best to choose formal shopping platforms. Even if there are disputes with merchants, we can still protect our rights through platform complaint channels; when encountering merchants that violate regulations and sell fake goods, we can also Report to the platform. Investors should recognize the fraudulent nature of relevant stock recommendation behaviors, actively report them, and improve the efficiency of supervision and investigation. (Legal Daily)