On April 14, the State Administration for Market Regulation held a“2022 People’s Livelihood Case Investigation and Handling ‘Iron Fist’ Action” Special Press Conference。
Yang Hongfeng, first-level inspector of the Price Supervision and Competition Bureau of the State Administration for Market RegulationAt the press conference, it was stated that in 2021, the State Administration for Market Regulation will carry out special rectification of anti-unfair competition law enforcement in key areas nationwide, and will crack down on unfair competition behaviors such as false propaganda, counterfeiting and confusion in the medical beauty market as one of the rectification priorities. A number of cases of unfair competition in the medical aesthetics market were investigated and handled, and efforts were made to standardize the competition order in the medical aesthetics market.
It is understood that in 2021, market supervision departments at all levels across the country will investigate and handle 8,563 cases of various types of unfair competition, with a fine of 573 million yuan, providing a strong guarantee for creating a market environment for fair competition. Among them, there were 103 cases of false propaganda in the field of medical beauty, with a fine of 5.98 million yuan.
How should consumers use legal weapons to protect their rights?In response to this issue, the “Daily Economic News” reporter interviewedYao Haifang, associate professor of Renmin University of China Law School, Zhong Haoyang, partner of Beijing Haiqin Law Firm。
Evidence of medical and aesthetic consumption should be preserved
Yang Hongfeng introduced that on October 29, 2021, the State Administration for Market Regulation announced to the public 10 typical cases of unfair competition in the medical beauty market, involving false promotion of doctor qualifications, medical institution qualifications and honors, false promotion of medical beauty product efficacy and service efficacy. There are various types of behaviors such as “swiping orders and speculation”, live broadcast and other methods of false propaganda. Through case exposure, play the role of warning and deterrence by interpreting the law by case, remind the majority of medical and aesthetic consumers to consume scientifically and rationally, and improve their discernment and self-protection ability.
Yao Haifang told the “Daily Economic News” reporter that the manifestations of false propaganda in the medical beauty market are mainly fraud and misleading propaganda. The former has the subjective intention to deceive and deliberately states false facts or conceals the true situation, while the latter has certain tendencies and misleading propaganda. Because the causes of medical aesthetic damage are complex, it may be the cause of cosmetic technology or the individual consumer, so it is difficult to prove the causal relationship between medical aesthetic behavior and damage results. Consumers should not trust the propaganda of sales staff. At the same time,Evidence of medical and aesthetic consumption should be retained for use in rights protection.The way to retain evidence can be to retain various publicity materials and written contracts, or to use mobile phones and other devices to record and record with the consent of the other party. “Evidence is very important. With evidence, you can go to the Consumers Association and the market supervision department to file a complaint.”
“At the same time, consumers should also be cautious when going for medical aesthetics. They must first check whether the medical and aesthetic institutions are formal, whether the products used have corresponding production licenses or indicate the manufacturer, and be careful when making large purchases such as pre-stored card services. Because there are more cases of ‘running’ in pre-stored card consumption now.” Yao Haifang reminded.
Zhong Haoyang told the “Daily Economic News” reporter that false propaganda in the medical beauty industry violated my country’s “Daily Economic News”.Consumer Protection Law“Article 20: Operators shall provide consumers with information about the quality, performance, use, and validity period of commodities or services, which shall be truthful and comprehensive, and shall not make false or misleading publicity;”Advertising Law“Article 4: Advertisements shall not contain false or misleading content, and shall not deceive or mislead consumers; and”Anti-Unfair Competition Law》。
How can consumers protect their rights when encountering false advertising in medical beauty? Who should compensation be sought? According to Zhong Haoyang, consumers can first report the situation to the Consumers Association and ask for help in safeguarding their rights. Secondly, you can apply to the health administrative department for processing, and the relevant department can revoke the diagnosis and treatment subjects or revoke the practice license of the medical institution.
Thirdly, it can apply to the Market Supervision Administration. Due to suspected violations of the Advertising Law and unfair competition, the Market Supervision Administration can order it to stop publishing advertisements, revoke its business license and impose a fine. Finally, you can sue in the People’s Court.
“On the issue of compensation, consumers can appeal to advertisers, that is, medical and aesthetic institutions. At the same time, if the advertiser or advertisement publisher cannot provide the advertiser’s real name, address and valid contact information, consumers can ask the advertiser, Advertisers compensate first”. Zhong Haoyang said.
Nine categories of illegal acts will be investigated and dealt with
Yang Hongfeng introduced that the State Administration for Market Regulation has decided to include the investigation and punishment of false propaganda in the field of medical cosmetology as the focus of the “iron fist” action in the investigation and handling of cases in the field of people’s livelihood in 2022. In view of the outstanding problems existing in the medical beauty industry,In this “iron fist” operation, the market supervision department will focus on investigating and punishing the following nine types of illegal acts：
The first is that the medical services provided by medical beauty institutions are inconsistent with the promises about beauty effects released through stores, WeChat public accounts, websites, etc. The second is to deceive and mislead consumers or the relevant public by making false or misleading commercial propaganda by fictitious or exaggerating the qualifications of doctors and the qualifications and honors of medical institutions.
The third is to deceive and mislead consumers or the relevant public by falsely or exaggerating the effects of medical beauty treatments or products by means of false cases, fabricated comparison pictures before and after diagnosis and treatment, etc. The fourth is to hire online celebrities, well-known bloggers, and anchors with goods to carry out live broadcast marketing. In the live broadcast, use words to conduct false commercial propaganda, deceive and induce consumers or relevant public behaviors.
The fifth is to deceive and mislead consumers or the relevant public by fictitious transactions, fabricating user evaluations, and deceiving or misleading consumers by means of “swiping orders and speculating on credit”. Sixth, the use of “advertising articles”, “grass notes”, and making up medical and beauty diaries to conduct false marketing, deceive and mislead consumers or the relevant public.
Seventh, the unauthorized use of the name, font size or abbreviation of a well-known hospital, etc., leads people to mistakenly believe that it is a product of a well-known hospital, or has a specific connection with a well-known hospital. Eighth, unauthorized use of the commercial logo, name or abbreviation, etc., of a medical beauty service institution with certain influence by others, leading people to mistakenly believe that it is the product of the institution or has a specific relationship with the institution. The ninth is the unauthorized use of the name, APP logo decoration, main part of the domain name, webpage content, etc. of a medical beauty service platform with high reputation or influence of others, which leads people to mistakenly believe that it is the platform or has a specific connection with the platform.
Yao Haifang said that the “Advertising Law” stipulates that if false advertisements of goods or services related to the life and health of consumers cause damage to consumers, their advertising operators, advertising publishers, and advertising spokespersons shall be jointly and severally liable with the advertiser. Therefore, if online celebrities, well-known bloggers, anchors with goods, etc. carry out live broadcast marketing, involving endorsement of medical and beauty products and other products that are related to consumers’ life and health, if they violate the law and cause damage to consumers, they must bear joint and several liability, and consumers have the right to claim against it. If consumers want to initiate a claim against an e-commerce platform, they need to first prove that the e-commerce platform knows that the Internet celebrity is making false propaganda but fails to stop it in time.
“At the same time, consumers can claim punitive damages in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Consumer Rights Protection Law.” Yao Haifang added.
Cover image source: Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Yuwei
