[“Tide Economy” Expects New Norms No. 4] Should e-sports hotels be managed by hotels or by internet cafes?
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E-sports hotels with the selling point of "e-sports + accommodation" have been favored by young people in recent years, but there are problems in this field, such as unclear industry characterization, and the acceptance of a large number of minors to surf the Internet without restrictions in the name of hotel accommodation.
Some lawyers believe that while encouraging the expansion of diversified business models and consumption scenarios, it is necessary to foresee and prevent multiple risks brought by new business formats in a timely manner, which tests the regulatory wisdom of relevant departments.
On the eve of Children's Day on June 1, the Supreme People's Procuratorate notified 8 typical cases of special legal supervision on the protection of minors, and a new business supervision and governance case handled by the People's Procuratorate of Suqian City, Jiangsu Province was included.
This case is also the first civil public interest lawsuit in the country that an e-sports hotel illegally accepts minors to provide Internet services.
As a new form of business, e-sports hotels are currently favored by young people due to their dual functions of Internet access and accommodation.
The question also arises: Is the e-sports hotel a hotel, or is it a business place for Internet access services?
As a result, many unsolved issues have arisen in terms of industry standards, the definition and accountability of law enforcement agencies.
Earlier in Henan, the Xingyang City People's Procuratorate publicly suggested that the dual management of "hotel + Internet cafes" should be implemented for e-sports hotels, and minors should be prohibited from entering.
Breeding of many crimes involving minors
On May 12, the Intermediate People's Court of Suqian City held a trial for a civil public interest lawsuit and ruled that an e-sports hotel prohibited the provision of Internet services to minors.
The facts of the case show that the e-sports hotel accepted minors, but did not apply for the "Internet Culture Business License".
Within 3 months, the e-sports hotel has recorded 387 minors staying at the hotel, and in order to avoid inspections, it often takes measures such as refusing to register minors.
Local law enforcement inspections found that it is very common for e-sports hotels to admit a large number of minors to surf the Internet without restrictions in the name of hotel accommodation.
Only in Sucheng District, where the crime occurred, there are more than 800 records of the admission of minors in the 12 e-sports hotel accommodation registration systems.
In the past year, the People's Procuratorate of Xingyang City, Henan Province has handled many cases of abuse of minors, which happened in e-sports hotels.
"Consumers can book rooms through the online platform, which is very convenient." Wang Lili, a post prosecutor of the Xingyang City People's Procuratorate in charge of juvenile procuratorial work, led the team to find out during the investigation and case handling that some e-sports hotels were not operating in the process of operation. Strictly implement the relevant provisions of the Law on the Protection of Minors, and do not ask or record the guardian's contact information and identity relationship when receiving minors; although some e-sports hotels have fulfilled the obligation to inform the guardian, in order to seek benefits, the use of The method of notification, such as only informing the guardian of the area where the minor is located, does not inform the minor that the minor will be staying.
The Xingyang City People's Procuratorate also found that there are cases where one person has registered for multiple accommodation and mixed male and female living in the e-sports hotel; the cheaper e-sports hotel has only applied for a business license, and has not applied for a special industry business license. Even without a business license, the Internet access fee is implicitly included in the accommodation fee, which cleverly circumvents the rules and restrictions that prohibit minors from entering the Internet access service business premises.
"Many cases of minors being violated have occurred in e-sports hotels, which is enough to show that such e-sports hotels have large regulatory loopholes in the protection of minors, and are likely to become breeding grounds for new illegal and criminal acts. "Wang Lili said.
Hotel and Internet Cafe properties overlap
Data shows that in 2021, there will be 15,000 e-sports hotels nationwide.
Correspondingly, the e-sports hotel, which is still in the savage growth period, lacks unified industry standards and has low barriers to entry into the industry.
In recent years, the new crown pneumonia epidemic has caused a huge impact on the hotel industry. Many hotels have transformed themselves to save themselves, and e-sports hotels have become an important direction.
However, some e-sports hotels are playing "edge ball", simply placing a bed in the room and adding a computer with a higher configuration, using the gimmick of e-sports to attract underage consumers.
Because there is no clear legal basis, the current characterization of e-sports hotels has yet to be clarified.
If an e-sports hotel is defined as a business place for Internet access services, the operator must apply for an "Internet Culture Business License", and minors are strictly prohibited from entering; if an e-sports hotel is defined as a place of accommodation, according to the relevant provisions of the Law on the Protection of Minors , operators can accept minors after fulfilling their obligations of inspection and reporting, which makes it difficult to effectively supervise their online service behaviors.
This means that in the overlapping area of hotels and Internet cafes in e-sports hotels, there is a vacuum area of regulatory policies.
In the above-mentioned civil public interest litigation case involving an e-sports hotel in Suqian, the "licensed operation" item in the enterprise registration form of the e-sports hotel does not include Internet access services, but its door plate clearly indicates that the service scope includes "Internet accommodation and catering".
In its marketing advertisement on the Internet platform, it is promoted that "a new type of hotel relying on e-sports games can not only enjoy high-quality e-sports services comparable to Internet cafes, but also have the comfortable experience of staying in a hotel".
After trial, the court held that Article 2 of the "Regulations on the Administration of Internet Access Service Business Sites" stipulates the Internet access service business sites.
The place has three elements: the non-specificity of the service object, the profit and the provision of Internet access services.
Although the name of this e-sports hotel is a hotel, it is significantly different from ordinary hotels in terms of facilities, consumption patterns and charging patterns. In essence, the main purpose and consumption method of this e-sports hotel is to provide Internet access services, and it belongs to Internet access services. business premises.
Supervision should adhere to the principle of "most beneficial to minors"
Jia Yongjian, an associate professor at the Law School of Henan University, told the "Worker Daily" reporter that under the catalysis of "e-sports +", the selling point of the e-sports hotel is also the "e-sports + Internet" service. Its core functions cover Internet services and accommodation services. Accept relevant supervision.
In order to strengthen the management of this new format, Jiangsu, Nanjing and other places have made explorations.
According to relevant regulations, if the number of computers in the room is greater than the number of beds (except for one or two computers), the e-sports hotel needs to apply for an "Internet Culture Operation License". Referring to the management of Internet cafes, it is not allowed to provide Internet services for minors, nor to provide Internet access services to minors. Open to people outside the accommodation.
"E-sports hotels should not only operate against 'accommodation' venues, but also refer to the management of 'Internet cafes', which will definitely raise the industry threshold." An analyst engaged in the promotion of e-sports sports said that compared with traditional Internet cafes, e-sports hotels The features are comfort and privacy. "If video surveillance is installed in the resting place, no one will want to come."
On May 26, the People's Procuratorate of Daguan District, Anqing City, Anhui Province issued an announcement to file a civil public interest lawsuit against a number of gaming hotels.
The announcement stated that these e-sports hotels have not obtained the "Network Culture Business License", provided Internet access services for minors, and failed to take protection measures for minors to surf the Internet, which may damage the physical and mental health of minors and cause damage to social and public interests.
"Regulatory issues involving e-sports hotel Internet services should always adhere to the principle of 'most beneficial to minors'." Chen Hongwei, a lawyer from Henan Liangcheng Law Firm, believes that although hotels and hotels are traditional industries, they have achieved cross-border through e-sports. And thus formed a new business format.
While encouraging the expansion of these diversified business models and consumption scenarios, it is also necessary to timely foresee and prevent the multiple risks brought by new business formats, and effectively eliminate the harm of e-sports hotels to the rights and interests of minors, which tests the supervision wisdom of relevant departments.
The Xingyang Municipal People's Procuratorate issued a procuratorial proposal to the Xingyang Municipal Public Security Bureau, urging it to conduct a comprehensive investigation of e-sports hotels within its jurisdiction, establish and improve the supervision mechanism for minors' stay, and strengthen legal education for e-sports hotel employees.
The procuratorate also formulated and issued procuratorial suggestions to the Xingyang Market Supervision and Administration Bureau, urging them to perform their duties in accordance with the law, take timely and effective measures to deal with unlicensed e-sports hotels, and conduct regular inspections to prevent unlicensed operations.