China looks to boost protection for online consumers
China is introducing new regulations to protect consumers’ rights in both the emerging ‘live-streaming’ market and traditional online platforms.
The new rules mean individuals or companies engaged in live-streaming sales must inform consumers as to the exact nature of goods are being sold, according to an official from China’s top market regulator. Live-streaming sales are events during which one or more hosts run product demonstrations or tutorials and invite viewers to leave comments, ask questions and purchase products.
Kuang Xu, head of the State Administration for Market Regulation’s (SAMR) division for law enforcement and inspection, said the Consumer Rights Protection Law, which will come into effect on July 1, will cover livestreaming sales and personal information protection, as well as more traditional online sales.
Kuang said livestreaming sales has helped stimulate and innovate consumption. However, he added that some consumers find it problematic to return items or report deceptive advertising.
He said that, over past five years, live-streaming sales had increased by 10.5 times; however, customer complaints increased by 47.1 times in the same period, which is significantly higher than traditional e-commerce.
Consequently, the new regulation stipulates that those who sell goods or provide services through the internet, television or telephone must introduce their business content via the home page, video screen, voice call or catalogue.
The sales platforms must also disclose to consumers the name, business address and contact information of the sellers.
“The provisions apply to live-streaming sales, which means those engaged in the business must tell consumers who sell goods and what goods are sold, in order to ensure the transparency of the business information,” Kuang said.
Furthermore, the regulation mandates platforms that engage in live-streaming sales to establish protocols to help consumers with any issues that arise concerning marketing and sales.
“The requirement is to standardize the business of live-streaming sales by improving the management of platforms,” Kuang said.
Chen Yifang, an official from the Supreme People’s Court, said that number of legal studies are being conducted to help improve consumers’ rights and protections.
“We’re doing research on live-streaming sales, rewarding live-streaming hosts, online booking and personal information protection of consumers,” said Chen.
The regulations extend to more traditional online selling platforms, said Liu Jun, deputy head of SAMR.
Liu said that as the online sales of goods in China have grown, the number of complaints and inquiries regarding has also surged rapidly over the past year, accounting for 56% of the country’s total.
The new regulations stipulate that vendors shall not fake user evaluations of their products, promote bundle sales or engage in big data-enabled price discrimination. Provisions have also been set out for auto subscription renewals and a no-hassle return policies.
SAMR will work with other related departments to address the problems that might occur in online consumption and continue to optimize the online consumption environment, Liu said.
China boasted over 900 million online shoppers as of the end of 2023, with online retail sales of physical goods accounting for 27.6 percent of the country’s total retail sales of consumer goods, official data showed.
Tourism drive launched
China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism is to launch a month-long campaign to promote tourism in May.
The campaign aims to boost high-quality development of the tourism industry, expanding eco-friendly tourism, and integrating cultural development with tourism, the ministry said in a statement.
It is to select six cities to highlight their tourist attractions. It has urged local governments to adopt preferential measures, such as issuing discount coupons for tourists and organising free entertainment events.
Local tourism departments are also encouraged to publicise their tourist attractions through social media platforms, and work with key influencers to hold livestream shows, according to the ministry.
On May 19, China celebrates its annual Tourism Day, a commemorative non-official holiday that celebrates the importance of the industry and the value of international travel.
