Relevant information on implementing Regulations
Release time: 2024-04-09 12:41 Information Source: China News Network

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The State Council Information Office will hold a regular policy briefing of The State Council at 10 am on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, and invite Liu Jun, Deputy Director of the General Administration of Market Regulation; Chen Yifang, President of the First Civil Trial Chamber of the Supreme People’s Court; Guo Qiwen, Head of the Second Bureau of Legislation of the Ministry of Justice; Kuang Xu, Director of the Law Enforcement Inspection Bureau of the General Administration of Market Regulation; You Xueyun, Head of the Cyber Rule of Law Bureau of the Cyberspace Administration of China; Wang Zhenyu, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Consumers Association, introduced the Implementation Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests and answered questions from journalists.
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Xing Huina, Deputy Director General and Spokesperson of the Information Bureau of The State Council Information Office:
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the regular policy briefing of The State Council. Recently, the Regulations on the Implementation of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests of the People’s Republic of China have been officially released. In order to help you better understand the relevant situation, we have invited Mr. Liu Jun, Deputy Director of the General Administration of Market Regulation, to introduce the relevant situation of the Regulations to you and answer your questions. Also present at today’s briefing are Ms. Chen Yifang, President of the First Civil Trial Chamber of the Supreme People’s Court; Mr. Guo Qiwen, Director of the Second Legislative Bureau of the Ministry of Justice; Mr. Kuang Xu, Director of the Law Enforcement Inspection Bureau of the General Administration of Market Regulation; Ms. You Xueyun, Director of the Cyber Rule of Law Bureau of the Cyberspace Administration of China; and Mr. Wang Zhenyu, Deputy Secretary General of the China Consumers Association.
Next, I would like to invite Mr. Liu Jun to make a brief introduction.
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Liu Jun, Deputy Director of the General Administration of Market Regulation:
Friends from the press, good morning! Today, I am very pleased to have a live exchange with you on the Implementation Regulations of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests. First of all, I would like to thank you for your long-term concern and support for market supervision departments and consumer rights and interests protection work. As we all know, fuel, rice, oil and salt maintain the peace of thousands of people, and the prosperity of all industries is related to food, clothing, housing and transportation. To protect the rights and interests of consumers is to protect the well-being of people’s livelihood, protect economic vitality, safeguard fairness and justice, and is of great significance to promoting high-quality development and ensuring a high-quality life. This year’s “Government Work Report” proposed to “implement the ‘assured consumption action’ and strengthen consumer rights and interests protection”, and was included in the key work of The State Council this year. The introduction of the “Regulations” can be said to be at the right time, strengthening the legal guarantee for the construction of the consumer environment on the new journey.
As we all know, protecting the rights and interests of consumers is the shared responsibility of the whole society. It requires the concerted efforts of legislation, law enforcement and the judiciary, as well as the concerted efforts of the government, the market and society. This requires a fair, transparent and predictable legal system to provide guidance for actions of all parties, balance rights and obligations, and promote all-win and win-win results. The Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law is one of the basic laws. Since its implementation in 1994, it has profoundly affected all aspects of market economy and social life. It can be said that it is a well-known law. Since the second revision in 2013, with the vigorous development of China’s new consumption, some new problems are inevitably accompanied, while traditional consumption also has some old problems have not been fundamentally solved. In order to enhance the operability of the consumption law and effectively respond to social concerns, the General Administration of Market Supervision and the Ministry of Justice drafted the Regulations. The drafting process of the “Regulations” is also a process of popularizing the concept of consumption and gathering the consensus of consumer insurance, which has led to the improvement of consumer insurance legislation in many fields such as finance, e-commerce, live broadcasting, property, maintenance, express delivery, and online car booking. As the first supporting administrative regulation of the consumer law, the Regulations play a role of connecting the preceding and the following, and have an important milestone significance in the development process of consumer rights and interests protection in China.
The Regulations adhere to the problem-oriented and systematic concept, focusing on the elaboration of operators’ obligations, strengthening national protection, improving dispute resolution and other aspects of a series of provisions, we summarized, there are five aspects of the highlights. First, put people first. The protection of consumers’ right to safety, right to know, right to make their own choices, right to fair trade, right to tranquility, and personal information has been strengthened in an all-round way, which is both a guarantee of rights and a guide to action. The second is to lead the parties. As a basic and comprehensive general law, all business activities in various fields should follow its provisions; As a special law to protect consumers, the rules and regulations of various industries should conform to its spirit. Third, keep pace with The Times. Special provisions have been made for new areas and new issues such as prepaid consumption, live streaming, “one old and one small”, “overbearing clause”, “brush single speculation letter”, “big data kill cooked”, automatic renewal, and forced tying. Fourth, the pass is moved forward. We will improve mechanisms for settling consumer disputes in advance, administrative mediation, and resolving them in multiple ways, so as to resolve more disputes at the source and nip them in the bud. Fifth, social co-governance. Strengthen social supervision and credit constraints, better play the role of consumers and consumer associations, and clearly oppose abuse of rights and malicious rights protection. The introduction of the Regulations will better support consumers to protect their rights according to law, better guide operators to operate according to law, and better promote the prosperity and development of the consumer market.
This year is the 30th anniversary of the implementation of the Law, and the Regulations will come into effect on July 1. However, the construction of the consumer environment is endless, and the protection of consumer rights and interests is always on the road. As the leading department of consumer rights and interests protection of The State Council, the General Administration of Market Regulation will work together with relevant departments to promote the implementation of “One Law and one Regulation”, make every effort to create a beautiful blueprint of “assured consumption in China”, strive to make integrity become the base of the market, let fairness become the cornerstone of consumption, and let the system for the benefit of the people take effect and can be felt, and truly do the work of the people. Now, I would like to take your questions. Thank you!

Xing Huina:
All right, now I’d like you to ask questions, and please inform your news organization before you ask questions.
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CCTV, China Media Group:
In particular, Article 3 refers to the establishment and improvement of a joint governance system for the protection of consumers’ rights and interests. Can you give us more details on what effect this joint governance system will achieve? thank you.
Liu Jun:
Thank you for your question. I’ll answer that. The protection of consumer rights and interests is a complex systematic project, which involves many participants. There are both positive interactions and cross-cutting conflicts among the parties. It has not only brought the help of “everyone adds firewood and flames are high”, but also put forward higher requirements for us to coordinate the interests of all parties. The Regulations clearly require the formation of a joint governance system that combines operators’ compliance with the law, industry self-discipline, consumer participation, government supervision and social supervision, which mainly plays a role in three aspects.
First, we need to make the market function more orderly. The Regulations focus on the implementation of the main responsibility of the operator, and the obligations of the operator stipulated in the consumption law are detailed. For example, around the protection of consumers’ personal and property safety, it is stipulated that in addition to general goods and services, gifts should also be safe and “free of liability”. For example, around the true disclosure of information, lists the common circumstances of false propaganda, and also stipulates that it is not allowed to fabricate or exaggerate the efficacy of treatment, health care, health care and other effects to induce the elderly to consume, and protect the pension money for our consumers. For another example, regarding the protection of consumers’ right to tranquility, the regulations do not allow the unauthorized sending of “sales messages” or making “sales calls” without authorization, which I expect many journalists present here have received. Through this series of clearer compliance guidelines and clearer legal responsibilities, the market is more orderly, the operation is more standardized, and the market failure is prevented and the consumption infringement is reduced.
The second is to strengthen government protection. Administrative protection is an important aspect of consumer rights protection, an international consensus, and an advantage of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics. The Regulations strengthen the leading role of the government and stipulate that governments at all levels should strengthen guidance on the protection of consumer rights and interests, specifically to organize, coordinate and urge relevant administrative departments to do a good job in the protection of consumer rights and interests. At the same time, the Regulations detailed the responsibilities of the relevant administrative departments, such as requiring timely handling of complaints and reports, carrying out consumption early warning and risk warning, increasing supervision and law enforcement efforts, strengthening the publicity of the law, administrative guidance and compliance guidelines for operators, and stipulating a series of responsibilities. These regulations will help better form a concerted government effort and better play the government’s functional role in protecting consumer rights.
Third, we need to make public oversight more effective. As we all know, protecting the rights and interests of consumers is the common responsibility of the whole society, which cannot be separated from strong social supervision. The power of social supervision is stronger than our ordinary supervision. The Regulations take the mass line in the new era, for the first time, the publicity of consumer complaint information has been raised as a statutory obligation, and the credit system in the consumer field has been innovated, so that our 1.4 billion consumers have become an omnipresent supervisory force. At the same time, the Regulations also make clear provisions on the role of social organizations, such as strengthening the public welfare supervision and public interest litigation responsibilities of consumer associations, and clearly requiring industry associations and chambers of commerce to strengthen industry self-discipline and play a good role. At the same time, encourage and support the mass media to strengthen public opinion supervision, let us jointly create a good atmosphere to protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
In the next step, the General Administration of Market Supervision will work with all sectors of society to fully carry out assured consumption actions, fully establish a consumer first policy orientation, comprehensively build a consumer-friendly society, and actively build a assured consumption environment co-governance pattern. Thank you!
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The Paper:
At present, when the legitimate rights and interests of consumers are infringed, they often have to pay a higher cost of rights protection in order to obtain relief, and we also see that some malicious rights protection has caused social concern. What are the improvements in consumer dispute resolution in the Regulations? thank you.
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Kuang Xu, Director of the Law Enforcement Inspection Bureau of the General Administration of Market Regulation:
Thank you for your question. How to deal with consumer disputes is the most concerned and realistic problem for every consumer. If you dare to consume without worries, you must have a fair and efficient channel for safeguarding your rights, and the “Regulations” improve the resolution mechanism of consumer disputes.
First, focus on reconciliation at the source. Negotiation and reconciliation with operators is the most convenient way for consumers and the most economical way for the whole society, and operators are the first responsible person for consumer rights protection. The Regulations require operators to implement the first ask responsible, “who is responsible for sales”, “who is responsible for service”, and consumers have the right to directly find sellers and service providers. We also encourage compensation in advance, shopping malls, platforms, scenic spots, etc. to pay consumers in advance when the settled merchants refuse to perform their duties. To guide online dispute resolution, at present, 166,000 enterprises have settled in the national 12315 platform, and the first settlement success rate is 53%, which is nearly 10 days faster than the traditional mediation, and improves the experience of rights protection.
Second, strengthen administrative mediation. Administrative mediation has a large number of disputes and is trusted by the masses. The law regards administrative mediation as a dispute resolution channel, which is to allow the government to help consumers resolve disputes and truly close the case, rather than just investigate and punish illegal acts. The Regulations provide for the first time that after the relevant administrative departments accept complaints, operators and consumers agree to mediation, they should mediate in a timely manner according to their responsibilities, which also reflects the orientation of “who is in charge of who protects their rights”. It also provides for the acceptance of complaints, time limits, entrusted mediation, identification testing and other procedures, such as major, complex, involving many people’s consumption disputes, can be included in the government’s spot checks and tests, “identification once, to solve a piece”, which also alleviates the consumers often reflect the identification of expensive, difficult pain points.
Finally, regulate consumption claims. Consumer disputes are the troubles of the growth of the market economy, we have always been open channels to appeal, support social supervision, the implementation of reporting rewards, “everyone has the responsibility to fight counterfeiting.” But in recent years, malicious claims have spread, damaging the business environment, misusing public resources, and impeding the rights of ordinary consumers. Some engrafted, switched, forged, seized by the public security organs, some to “touch porcelain” flaws for business, a small profit. Last year, the market supervision system received 17.403 million complaints, and we calculated that the average number of complaints was 1.8, while some people made more than 3,000 complaints. We believe that both consumers and business operators are important participants in the market, and both sides should uphold the principle of good faith and conduct civil activities within the rule of law. The Regulations provide for the first time that complaints and reports shall comply with laws, regulations and relevant provisions, and shall not seek improper interests, infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of business operators, or disrupt the order of the market economy; Those who defraud compensation or extort blackmail shall bear administrative and even criminal responsibility; The system of punitive compensation and administrative punishment should be accurately applied to avoid “small mistakes, large compensation” and “small over-heavy penalties”.
The people have aspirations and the government has been successful. Small demands are connected to the big people’s livelihood, we will continue to improve the consumer dispute resolution channels, and constantly improve the sense of gain of consumers. Thank you!
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China Macro News:
As the first supporting administrative regulations of the Consumer Protection Law, what impact will the Regulations bring to judicial trials? In addition, from what aspects will the Supreme People’s Court make efforts to implement the provisions of the Regulations, while strengthening the judicial protection of consumer rights and interests? thank you.
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Chen Yifang, President of the First Civil Trial Division of the Supreme People’s Court:
Thank you for your question. First of all, the Regulations further clarify the rights of consumers and the obligations of operators, which is conducive to creating a good market environment and preventing the occurrence of consumer disputes. Secondly, the “Regulations” smooth the channels for complaints and reports, strengthen mediation, etc., which is conducive to the construction of a multi-level and efficient consumer dispute resolution mechanism, and promote the governance of the source of litigation. Third, the Regulations improve the system of punitive damages, prepaid consumption, and seven-day return without reason, providing a new basis for the people’s court. Article 49, paragraph 1, of the Regulations clearly states for the first time that if there are defects in the labels, labels, instructions, and publicity materials of goods or services that do not affect the quality of goods or services and do not mislead consumers, operators shall not be liable for punitive damages, which has important rule significance for the people’s court to try consumer fraud cases.
In the next step, the People’s Court will make efforts from four aspects to implement the Regulations and strengthen the judicial protection of consumers’ rights and interests:
First, speed up the formulation of the Interpretation of Several Issues on the Application of Law in the Trial of Food and Drug Punitive Compensation Dispute Cases. The regulations not only protect consumers’ rights but also punish extortion, which is consistent with the judicial interpretation of punitive damages for food and drugs being formulated by the Supreme People’s Court. The draft of the judicial interpretation clearly supports consumers’ rights protection according to law, regulates the claims of those who “know fake and buy fake”, cracks down on illegal claims such as extortion, and allows consumers to consume with confidence and operators to operate with peace of mind.
The second is to improve the prepayment consumption adjudication rules. Article 22 of the Regulations stipulates that business operators in prepaid consumption shall conclude a written contract, shall not reduce the quality of goods or services, and shall return the balance of advance payments. The Supreme People’s Court plans to improve the adjudication rules on issues such as the subject of responsibility for prepaid consumption, the validity of contracts, termination of contracts, refund and interest payment, and consumer fraud, so as to guide operators to operate in good faith and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
Third, establish a communication and coordination mechanism with administrative organs. The Regulations have improved the law enforcement norms of administrative organs and the adjudication rules of judicial organs, creating conditions for strengthening law enforcement and judicial cooperation. The Supreme People’s Court is working with the State Administration for Market Regulation and other administrative organs to establish and improve a long-term mechanism for communication and cooperation, and form a joint legal force through information exchange, judicial advice, and litigation coordination, so as to create a good legal environment for the people to buy, eat and use with confidence.
Fourth, give full play to the role of consumer public interest litigation. The Regulations make special provisions on consumer public interest litigation. The Supreme People’s Court has actively participated in the legislation of public interest litigation, promoted the improvement of the consumer public interest litigation system, and reduced the cost of consumer protection.
In addition, the Supreme People’s Court is conducting research on issues such as online tipping, online live marketing, online booking, and consumer personal information protection. The next step will be to continuously increase judicial protection of consumers’ rights and interests by timely releasing typical cases and formulating judicial policies. Thank you!
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Cnr.cn:
We now find that live streaming is becoming more and more popular, but at the same time, false marketing behavior is also happening, how do the Regulations refine the supervision of online live marketing activities and live streaming platform business behavior? thank you.
Kuang Xu:
Thank you for your question. Live delivery of goods has innovated the consumption scene and enriched the consumption supply, but due to the “front and behind the scenes” there are many subjects, the “human goods field” chain is long, the “online and offline” management is difficult, and consumers are difficult to prove, resulting in false marketing, goods are not on the board, and returns are difficult. In the past five years, the market size of live streaming e-commerce has increased by 10.5 times, at the same time, the increase of complaints and reports is as high as 47.1 times, significantly higher than traditional e-commerce, indicating that the development and norms are not balanced. The Regulations make five provisions on online consumption, which are also applicable to live delivery. On this basis, in view of the characteristics and outstanding problems of live broadcasting, the Regulations have also made various norms.
In terms of enhancing information disclosure, the Regulations stipulate that business operators providing goods and services through the Internet, television, telephone, mail order, etc., shall indicate or explain their real names and marks in a prominent way on their home page, video screen, voice, and commodity catalogs. Where other business operators actually provide goods and services, they shall also provide consumers with the name, business address, contact information and other information of the business operator. Live with the goods must be clear “who is taking the goods” and “who is taking the goods”, which is also the premise and bottom line of marketing.
In terms of improving platform management, the Regulations stipulate that live marketing platform operators should establish a sound consumer rights and interests protection system and clarify the consumer dispute resolution mechanism. In the event of a consumption dispute, the operator of the live broadcast platform shall provide the necessary information about the operator and the live broadcast marketer according to the requirements of the consumer, as well as the relevant business activity records and other necessary information. The “three no products” are often the name, address and contact information of the operator. The platform shall strictly implement the identity verification and daily management responsibilities. Actively assist consumers to defend their rights and effectively improve after-sales experience.
In terms of regulating marketing behaviors, the Regulations provide that where live broadcast content released by direct broadcast operators and live broadcast marketers constitutes commercial advertising, the obligations of advertising publishers, advertising operators or advertising spokespersons shall be fulfilled in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Advertising Law. The Regulations raise the relevant content of the normative document “Network broadcast Marketing Management Measures” to legal obligations, and clarify that platforms, broadcast rooms and anchors are “everyone’s responsibility”. Thank you!
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Shenzhen TV direct news reporter:
The release and upcoming implementation of the Regulations mark a new stage in the protection of consumer rights and interests in China. Can you introduce the main background of the promulgation of the Regulations and the original intention of the policy formulation, and what existing major problems are aimed at solving? thank you.
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Guo Qiwen, head of the Second Bureau of Legislation of the Ministry of Justice:
First of all thank you for your question. The protection of consumer rights and interests concerns the basic necessities and vital interests of the general public, and the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests has been amended twice since its introduction. In the past decade and more, China’s economy and society have developed rapidly, especially the emergence of new business forms and new models such as platform economy, and the protection of consumer rights and interests is facing some new situations and problems. In the traditional consumer field, false propaganda, “overlord clause”, prepayment “difficult to refund”, “roll money run away” and other problems are more prominent. In terms of online consumption, operators abuse technical means, platform rules, their own advantages, etc., and infringe on the rights and interests of consumers. Problems such as online fake marketing, fake and shoddy products in live streaming and “price discrimination” and “big data killing” have aroused widespread concern. For these problems, some of the existing provisions are relatively principled, and some still have institutional gaps. It is necessary to further improve the legal system for the protection of consumer rights and interests by formulating implementation regulations, refining and improving the relevant provisions of the Law on the protection of consumer rights and interests.
The first is to refine and supplement the relevant provisions of the Law on the Protection of consumer rights and interests, and further refine and supplement the obligations of business operators to ensure the personal and property safety of consumers, the disposal of defective products, the clear labeling of prices, the use of standard terms, and the protection of the rights and interests of the elderly and minors. The second is to improve the relevant regulations on online consumption, stipulating that operators shall not force consumers to buy goods or accept services, and shall not implement “price discrimination” and “big data killing.” Operators of live marketing platforms shall fulfill their obligations to protect the rights and interests of consumers in accordance with the law. The third is to standardize prepayment consumption business activities, and clarify the relevant rules for operators to collect and return prepayment. The fourth is to strengthen the government’s responsibility for protecting consumer rights and interests, stipulating that relevant administrative departments should promptly handle consumer complaints and reports, and strengthen supervision, inspection and law enforcement. The fifth is to clarify the performance requirements of consumer associations, and give full play to the positive role of consumer associations in protecting the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
In addition, while strengthening the protection of consumer rights and interests, more attention is paid to reshaping a good market operation order. For example, in response to the complaints and reports and the application of punitive damages, which have been highly concerned by all aspects of society for many years, the Regulations emphasize that consumers should protect their rights according to law and should not use complaints and reports to seek improper interests while unblocking the channels for complaints and reports and improving the acceptance mechanism. Specify the specific circumstances that are not applicable to punitive damages; At the same time, it stipulates that those who defraude compensation or blackmail operators by means of entraining, switching, falsifying, fabricating facts, etc. shall be dealt with in accordance with relevant laws such as the Law on Public Security Administration Penalties. While further clarifying the obligations of operators, the Regulations also create a good market environment for the legitimate operation of operators. Thank you!
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Extreme news reporter:
With the continuous development of the platform economy, the protection of consumer rights and interests has also emerged some new problems, fake marketing, “big data kill cooking”, automatic renewal, refund difficulties and other issues have received widespread attention. What are the new regulations on regulating Internet consumption? thank you.
Liu Jun:
Thank you for your question. I’ll answer that. According to relevant statistics, as of the end of last year, China’s online shopping users exceeded 900 million, online travel booking users exceeded 500 million, physical goods online retail sales accounted for 27.6% of the total retail sales of consumer goods, at the same time, related appeals are also growing rapidly, last year, the national online consumer demand accounted for 56% of the total demand, more than half. Become an important factor affecting consumers’ sense of gain. Aiming at the problems existing in online consumption, the Regulations have made a series of new provisions to better protect consumers’ right to know and to choose.
First, it is forbidden to “brush single speculation letter”. Some operators “batch praise”, “fake grass”, “fictitious assessment”, “praise cashback”, “delete bad reviews” and other behaviors, damage fair competition and fair trading. The Regulations stipulate that operators shall not fabricate trading information and business data, and shall not tamper with, falsify or conceal user evaluations to prevent cheating and misleading consumers.
Second, “compulsory tie-in” is prohibited. Some operators pay for compulsory registration by scanning code, bundle vouchers for online booking, and so on, which infringes on consumers’ independent choice. The Regulations stipulate that business operators shall not use technical means to force or in disguised form force consumers to purchase commodities and receive services. Where a business operator provides commodities and services by means of collocation or combination, it shall bring them to the attention of consumers in a conspicuous manner.
The third is to prohibit “big data killing.” As we all know, “fair trade, true price” is not only the traditional Chinese business ethics, but also the bottom line of modern market transactions. If the operator conducts discriminatory pricing according to the consumer’s usage habits, interests, payment ability, bargaining conditions, etc., it is likely to damage the fairness of consumption. Therefore, the Regulations stipulate that operators shall not set different prices or charge standards for the same goods and services under the same trading conditions without the knowledge of consumers. This is also the first time that differentiated pricing has been regulated in administrative regulations in our country.
The fourth is to standardize “automatic renewal”. Now there are more and more paying members of the website and APP, some first month discounts, the next month high prices, some default check, unauthorized deduction, and jump five or six steps can not be cancelled, so that consumers are impossible to guard against. The Regulations stipulate that the relevant operators should draw the attention of consumers in two significant ways before consumers accept the service and before automatic renewal and automatic renewal, and should also provide consumers with significant and simple options to cancel or change at any time.
The fifth is to guarantee “no reason to return”. Seven days no reason to return has become our online shopping standard, but there are still some businesses for a variety of reasons. According to the Regulations, business operators shall not limit the scope of legal returns without reason; Goods that are not applicable for unjustified return shall be marked in a prominent way to prompt the consumer to confirm at the time of purchase and shall not be the option of the consumer’s tacit consent. At the same time, without the consumer’s confirmation, no return without reason shall be refused.
In the next step, the General Administration of Market Supervision will work with relevant departments to continuously optimize the online consumption environment and better safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the vast number of online consumers in view of the new situations and new problems that may continue to emerge from online consumption. Thank you!
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National Business Daily reporter:
Overlord clause is a common problem encountered by consumers, many netizens have encountered “orders do not return do not change”, “registration as consent”, “jurisdiction only local” and other unfair format clauses, may I ask the “Regulations” what provisions for this? thank you.
Kuang Xu:
Thank you for your question. Overbearing terms are common, I believe many journalists present have been infringed by overbearing terms, which is also a stubborn bully in the field of consumption, impacting fairness and justice, eroding the consumption base, and consumers deeply hate it. In recent years, not only the hidden rules of traditional services have been criticized repeatedly, but new forms of business such as performance booking, online travel, online entertainment, online shopping express delivery, and medical beauty have become the hardest hit areas. In 2022, a survey by the China Consumers Association showed that nearly 90% of consumers had encountered overlord terms. In 2023, the national 12315 platform received 241,000 related appeals, 3.3 times that of 2021. Small incision involves large adjustment of rights, obligations and liability risks. The “Regulations” paid special attention to the overlord clause and refined it on the basis of the consumer rights and interests protection law.
The Regulations stipulate that business operators shall not use the standard terms to unreasonably exempt or reduce their liability, increase the liability of consumers, or restrict the rights of consumers to modify or terminate contracts according to law, choose litigation or arbitration to resolve consumer disputes, or choose goods or services of other business operators. In 2023, the State Administration for Market Supervision promulgated the Measures for the Administration of Contract Administration, which requires operators to conclude contracts with consumers using standard terms. Consumers shall be reminded of the quantity, quality, price or cost of goods or services, safety precautions and risk warnings, after-sales service, civil liability and other contents that have major interests of consumers by means of separate notices, bold fonts, pop-up Windows, etc., and shall be explained in accordance with the requirements of consumers. The contents not included in the standard terms are also listed in detail.
In economic life, some wantonly refuse to cancel or charge high liquidated damages in the name of industry practices, and the number of disputes of individual performance booking platforms even ranks in the forefront of all enterprises in the country. Some limited consumer disputes can only be resolved by arbitration, excluding complaints, lawsuits and other solutions, increasing the cost of consumer rights protection. Some limited consumption disputes can only be governed by the court where the operator resides, which excludes the right of consumers to choose the place of contract performance and the place of infringement to Sue, and raises the threshold of consumer rights protection. Also, “membership card is easy to return card difficult”, “package upgrade is easy to downgrade difficult”, “account registration is easy to cancel difficult”, etc. These problems have caused the majority of consumers strong dissatisfaction, should be corrected in time.
In the next step, we will vigorously carry out the “iron fist” action in the field of people’s livelihood, protect the special law enforcement action of consumption, aim at the overlord clause, correct a batch, investigate a batch, expose a batch, and effectively improve the consumption experience. Further make good use of the national contract model text base, has included various types of contract model text 565, welcome to inquire and use. That’s all I’ll answer. Thank you!
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Guangming Daily:
Nowadays, consumers are paying more and more attention to the protection of personal information, and the excessive collection and use of personal information by some apps has become a hot issue in recent years. How does the Regulation stipulate this? thank you.
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You Xueyun, Head of Cyberspace Administration’s Cyber Rule of Law Bureau:
Thanks for asking. China attaches great importance to the protection of personal information. In 2021, the basic law in this field, “Protection of Personal Information”, was formulated and implemented to implement the requirements of the law. Article 23 of the Regulation stipulates the obligation of operators to protect consumers’ personal information from three aspects.
First, when providing goods or services, operators shall not excessively collect consumers’ personal information, and shall not use one-time general authorization, tacit authorization, etc., to force or disguised force consumers to agree to the collection and use of personal information that is not directly related to business activities. Business operators handling consumers’ personal information shall follow the principles of legality, legitimacy, necessity and good faith, and shall not process personal information through misleading, fraud, coercion, etc. Adhere to the principle of clarity of purpose, have a clear and reasonable purpose, and are directly related to the purpose of processing. It is necessary to follow the principle of minimization, adopt a method that has the least impact on the rights and interests of individuals, and limit it to the minimum scope to achieve the purpose of processing, and do not excessive collection. It is necessary to follow the principle of openness and transparency, disclose personal information processing rules, and specify the purpose, method and scope of processing. It should also abide by the personal information processing rules with the core of “notify-consent”, and the personal information can be processed only after the voluntary and clear consent of the consumer is fully informed. Moreover, consumers have the right to withdraw their consent, and may not refuse to provide goods or services on the grounds that consumers do not consent or withdraw their consent. In 2021, four departments, including the National Cyberspace Administration and the General Administration of Market Regulation, jointly formulated the Provisions on the Scope of Necessary Personal Information for Common Types of Mobile Internet Applications, clarifying the scope of necessary personal information for 39 common types of apps, and stipulating that APP operators shall not refuse users to use the basic functions of apps because users do not agree to collect non-essential personal information. For example, everyone must have experienced online shopping, the basic function of online shopping service is to buy goods, the necessary personal information range includes: registered users mobile phone number, that is, our mobile phone number; The name, address and telephone number of the consignee; Payment time, payment amount, payment channel and other payment information. If it goes beyond that, such as face recognition, then it is excessive collection, not necessary personal information.
Second, operators handling sensitive personal information shall comply with the provisions of relevant laws and administrative regulations. What is sensitive personal information? Sensitive personal information refers to personal information that, once leaked or illegally used, may easily lead to the violation of the human dignity of natural persons or the safety of personal property, including biometric information, religious beliefs, specific identities, medical and health information, financial accounts, whereabouts and tracks, as well as the personal information of minors under the age of 14. Personal sensitive personal information may only be processed if it has a specific purpose and is sufficiently necessary, and strict protective measures are taken, and the individual consent or written consent of the consumer should be obtained. If the personal information of minors under the age of 14 is processed, the consent of the parents or other guardians of the minors shall be obtained, and special rules for the processing of personal information shall be formulated.
Third, operators should protect consumers’ personal information in accordance with the law. Business operators shall guarantee consumers’ right to know and decide in personal information processing activities, including the right to consult and copy, the right to correct and supplement, the right to delete, the right to explain, etc., and establish a convenient mechanism for accepting and processing applications for consumers to exercise their rights. Business operators shall not illegally sell, provide or disclose consumers’ personal information, and shall take necessary measures to ensure the safety of personal information, prevent unauthorized access and disclosure, alteration or loss of personal information, and shall immediately take remedial measures if such disclosure, alteration or loss of personal information occurs or may occur. And notify the departments and consumers who perform the duty of personal information protection. Thank you!
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China Business News:
The consumer association is the bridge and link between consumers and business operators, industry associations and administrative departments. What measures will the consumer association take next to fulfill its duties according to law and better protect the rights and interests of consumers? thank you.
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Wang Zhenyu, Deputy Secretary-General of China Consumers Association:
Thank you for your question, and thank you for your concern about the consumer association. In order to safeguard the rights and interests of consumers, the Regulations put forward new requirements for strengthening the organizational construction of consumer associations and better exerting the role of consumer associations.
First, it is clear that people’s governments at all levels should strengthen the organizational construction of consumer associations and provide necessary funds and other support for consumer associations to perform their duties. Over the past 40 years, consumer associations have established close ties with consumers and are trusted by the people. At present, there is a trend of decreasing consumer association organizations in individual places, and the provisions of the Regulations will help promote the construction of grassroots consumer association organizations and lay a solid foundation for timely solutions to consumers’ emergencies and worries.
Second, it is clear that the relevant administrative departments should carefully listen to the opinions and suggestions of consumer associations, promptly investigate and deal with the problems reflected and respond to and inform them. In the course of carrying out social supervision, consumers’ Association organizations find consumption infringement problems or “ridicule” with concentrated opinions through consumer complaints and public opinion monitoring, and reflect them to the relevant administrative departments and promote timely treatment, which is conducive to the effective solution of consumption infringement problems.
The third is to refine the means of supervision and guidance of consumer associations, and further enrich the “toolbox” and “combined fist” of legal responsibilities. On the one hand, it can set up a typical protection of the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, summarize and promote experience and practices, and guide enterprises to comply with regulations. On the other hand, it can carry out comparative tests, consumption surveys, consumption reviews, complaint information publicity, request identification of complained goods, issue consumption warnings, etc., and carry out social supervision of goods and services.
Fourth, it is clear that operators should accept the supervision of consumer associations. Consumer associations may urge relevant business operators and trade organizations to strengthen the protection of consumers’ rights and interests by putting forward suggestions for improvement or guiding talks. In order to solve consumer complaints, when the consumer association conducts an investigation, the relevant business operators may be invited to present factual opinions, provide evidence, etc., and the business operators shall actively cooperate in these aspects.
Fifth, the relevant administrative departments, with the consent of consumers and business operators, may entrust complaints to consumer associations for mediation in accordance with law. The acceptance of mediation by the consumer association will help ease the pressure on the administrative department to handle complaints and put more power into supervision and law enforcement; At the same time, it can give full play to the advantages of extensive and close contacts of consumer associations, provide consumers with more simple and lower cost mediation services, and effectively resolve disputes. In addition to the traditional consumer association organization and offline mediation of rights protection sites, on March 15 this year, the National Consumer Association Wisdom 315 platform was launched for trial operation, providing a new channel for the reconciliation and mediation of consumer disputes.
In the next step, the National Consumer Association organization will do a good job as a propagandist, practitioner, promoter and defender of the Regulations, give full play to the statutory duties and roles conferred by the Consumer Law and the Regulations, gather the joint efforts of the whole society, and jointly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. Thank you!
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First Business Reporter:
In recent years, consumers have reflected prominently the events of default, service shrinkage, difficult refund and even rolling money away in prepaid consumption. What are the provisions of the Regulations on regulating prepaid consumption? thank you.
Kuang Xu:
Thank you for your question. In recent years, all kinds of chaos of prepaid consumption have become a worry for the people and a blockage point of assured consumption, and regulating prepaid consumption is also a key point of this “Regulation” legislation. Just now, Mr Guo Qiwen of the Ministry of Justice and Ms Chen Yifang of the Supreme People’s Court have also mentioned this aspect. The Regulations further strengthen the obligations of operators from three aspects:
The first is the obligation to establish a “written contract”. A business operator shall conclude a written contract with a consumer, stipulating the specific contents of the commodity or service, the price or fee, the way of refund of advance payment, the liability for breach of contract and other matters, and strengthen the constraints on the business operator to abide by the commitment through the form of a written contract, so as to reduce the difficulty of proof when consumers defend their rights.
The second is to strengthen the obligation of “performing according to the contract”. Business operators shall provide commodities or services in accordance with the agreement with consumers and shall not reduce the quality of commodities or services or arbitrarily raise prices. If the business operator fails to provide in accordance with the agreement, it shall perform the agreement or refund the advance payment as required by the consumer. For operators to reduce quality, cut corners, service shrinkage and other situations, the “Regulations” for the first time to give consumers the right to terminate the contract, and the operator to return not only the balance of the advance payment, but according to the performance of the contract and breach of contract to determine.
The third is to clarify the obligation of “informing the matter”. A business operator shall stop receiving advance payment if there is a major operational risk; Where a business operator decides to suspend business or relocate a service site, it shall inform the consumer in advance and continue to perform its obligations or return the balance of the advance payment that has not been consumed. Even if the operator has no subjective fault, it will cause the contract to be unable to perform or significantly increase the cost of consumer performance, and the Regulations also give consumers the right to rescind the contract.
In addition, although the deposit is a guarantee rather than an advance payment, but also has the form and risk of “advance payment”, it is also easy to cause refund disputes, so the “Regulations” on the deposit also made corresponding provisions, requiring operators should agree with consumers in advance to return the deposit, procedures and time limits, not to return the deposit set unreasonable conditions, meet the conditions to return in time. When the consumer defaults, the operator should deduct the deposit based on the actual loss, rather than a simple “all and nothing”.
It should be emphasized that prepaid consumption is a business model that involves all walks of life, and relevant administrative departments strengthen daily supervision in their respective fields, investigate and deal with illegal acts, and deal with consumer complaints. For example, single-use commercial prepaid cards are in charge of the Commerce Department, education, sports, cultural tourism, health, transportation also have corresponding responsibilities, “Regulations” set up special penalties for prepaid consumption, clearly by the relevant administrative departments to punish; For those who run away with the money after receiving the fees in advance, they will also be listed in the list of serious violations of the law and broken promises. Thank you!
Xing Huina:
That’s all for today’s briefing. Thank you to several presenters and to all media friends. Bye, everybody!