Nowadays, with the accelerated integration of online and offline consumption scenarios, it is very common for consumers to accidentally be "live broadcasted". Some merchants use short video platforms to attract business, live broadcast and film real consumption scenes without permission, and use customers as marketing tools. Under the topic of "being broadcast live" on the Internet platform, many netizens shared their real experiences, and many of the places where the incident occurred included restaurants, gyms, etc. (China Youth Daily, April 30)
Some businesses are keen to display live offline consumption online in the form of short videos or live broadcasts, aiming to achieve an immersive publicity effect and attract traffic to themselves. , gathering popularity, but did not pay attention to its infringement on consumers' privacy rights, blurring the boundaries between business autonomy and consumers' legitimate rights and interests.
my country's "Civil Code" and other relevant laws stipulate that without the consent of the portrait rights holder, the portrait of the portrait rights holder shall not be produced, used, or disclosed; natural persons enjoy the right to privacy in accordance with the law, and no organization or individual may spy, intrude, leak, disclose, etc. infringe upon the privacy rights of others. Even in a public environment, citizens' portraits and personal information are protected in accordance with the law. According to the Consumer Rights Protection Law: When consumers purchase and use goods and receive services, they have the right to have their personal dignity and other aspects respected, and they have the right to have their personal information protected in accordance with the law.
From this point of view, if a merchant wants to take pictures of customers' consumption scenes, they should first seek the other party's consent. If the consumer refuses, they cannot film or live broadcast the other party. If the consumer is filming or live broadcasting, they should immediately stop the infringing behavior and take remedial measures such as deleting the playback. Taking photos and publishing them without telling them, or live broadcasting them without telling them, is suspected of infringing on consumers' rights to know, portrait rights, privacy rights and other rights, and can easily lead to the leakage of consumers' facial features, body features, whereabouts and other personal information. With the widespread application of biometric technology, consumers' facial features are easily captured. Once used by criminals, it will cause damage to consumers' personal and property safety.
On the International Consumer Rights Day on March 15 this year, the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Rights Protection Committee and the Jiangsu Provincial High People's Court released the "Typical Consumer Rights Protection Cases in the Province in 2023". In one of the cases, a consumer sued a merchant without his permission. , posting the video of the service process on the Internet, infringing on his right to portrait, privacy and reputation. The court clearly stated that merchants who disclose consumer videos without consent must be held liable for infringement of portrait rights. The Jiangsu Consumer Protection Commission said it hopes to use this to warn against similar infringements. Any publicity and promotion activities by
merchants should follow the principles of legality and reasonableness, and keep the boundaries of marketing. For example, collecting customer consumption pictures should follow the principles of legality, legitimacy, and necessity. Only by strengthening the awareness of consumer rights protection can we win the trust of consumers. Infringing on consumer rights and alienating consumers into marketing "atmosphere groups" and traffic "tool people" may not only fail to attract traffic and gain popularity , It will also damage the image and reputation of businesses and make consumers disgusted, thus "voting with their feet."
In view of the fact that privacy protection under "National Live Broadcasting" has become a serious issue, relevant departments must consolidate the main responsibilities of the platform. For short videos or live broadcasts involving consumption scenarios with prominent personal images such as dining and fitness, various platforms must strengthen review, refine and improve the internal management regulations of the platform, and guide merchants to use technical means (such as mosaic) to solve publicity and promotion problems. The contradiction of protecting consumer information; for those suspected of infringing on the legitimate rights and interests of others, the live stream must be promptly disconnected or the relevant video removed. If necessary, punishment may be imposed by restricting push, blocking accounts, etc.
Consumers should be brave enough to say "no" once they find that they have been filmed by a merchant in a short video or live broadcast. If they find that the merchant has constituted infringement, they should report it through the complaint channel of the relevant platform so that the illegal short video or live broadcast can be removed from the shelves in a timely manner and rectified. If the matter cannot be resolved, you can safeguard your rights according to law by filing a complaint with the relevant department or filing a lawsuit in court.
text/The needle is not sharp
picture source/Visual China
editor/Wang Han
