Marks：_______/100

Title: Study the rights and interests of consumers and the

responsibility and influence of e-commerce operation——

Based on China’s E-commerce Law

Student Name Lee Tsz Ching 李芷晴

Student No. 2021152564

Major International Economic and Trading

Course Commercial Law

Supervisor Li Jing

Date(dd/mm/yyyy) 18/6/2022
Abstract:

With the development of technology, promote the rapid development of information

era, people's living habits began to change, the network has become a indispensable

thing, whether it's working, learning or shopping without the use of the network,

prompted the rapid development of electronic commerce. For example, Tmall, taobao,

WeChat. When consumers enjoy the convenience brought by e-commerce, they will

inevitably have different risks, such as consumer fraud, illegal collection and trading of

personal information and other acts against the rights and interests of consumers.

Secondly, the rise of e-commerce also makes many enterprises lack of understanding

of e-commerce and fail to operate properly and legally. Therefore, the establishment of

"China’s E-commerce law" is necessary, we need to rely on laws to protect the rights

and interests of consumers and guide the development of enterprises, for the healthy

and rapid development of e-commerce to create a good legal environment. This paper

will study the purpose and function of the establishment of "E-commerce Law",

analysis the case, the protection of consumers and the responsibility, obligation of

enterprises and the suggestions for improvement. The innovation part is how to

combine the Chinese e-commerce law with other laws to better protect consumer rights

Key Words: China’s E-commerce law ; illegal collection；consumer fraud

Ab stract············································································ ·2
1. China’s E-commerce law···································································4
1.1 Introduction··············································································4
1.2 Definition·················································································4
1.3 Purpose of China's E-commerce Law··············································4-5
1.4 The role of e-commerce law·························································5-6
2. Analysis of typical cases··································································· 6
2.1 The Case about Qunar misleading consumers····································6-7
2.2 Case analysis and thinking·····························································7
3. How does China's E-commerce Law combine with other laws to protect consumer
rights···························································································8
3.1 Cybersecurity Law of People’s Republic of China··································8
3.2 Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China·················8
4. Rights and interests of consumers·························································9
4.1 Right of information protection·······················································9
4.2 Security rights·······································································9-10
4.3 Right to know··········································································10
4.4 Fair trade rights········································································10
4.5 Claims···················································································11
5. Responsibilities and obligations of e-commerce operators and platform
operators·····················································································11
5.1 E -commerce Operators···························································11-12
5.2 E -commerce platform operators·················································12-13
6. Deficiencies and suggestions for improvement·········································13
6.1 Insufficient legal supervision·························································13
6.2 Clearly list the industries that need to obtain relevant administrative
licenses··············································································13-14
6.3 Strengthen the punishment intensity of legal liability·····························14
6.4 Government should popularize "China’s E-commerce Law·················14-15
Summary········································································ 15-16
Bibliography·················································································17-18
1. China’s E-commerce Law

1.1 Introduction

With the development of various e-commerce industries, various business

applications and platforms have been widely used, which are beloved by young people.

However, in the process of enjoying convenience, there are also many risks, such as

consumer fraud, which makes consumers unable to prevent. At the same time, users

need to fill in personal information such as name, phone number and address for

registration, which also increases the risk of personal privacy leakage and causes a lot

of losses to consumers. The "E-commerce Law" sets clear objectives and legal norms

to protect the rights and interests of consumers, and clearly regulates the obligations

and responsibilities of e-commerce operators, to promote the healthy and safe

development of e-commerce industry and enable consumers to enjoy e-commerce

services and products at ease.

1.2 Definition

"E-commerce" means business activities of selling commodities or providing

services through the Internet or any other information network.1 China's E-commerce

Law is a law specifically formulated for the e-commerce industry.

1.3 Purpose of China's E-commerce Law

The e-commerce Law was established to protect the legitimate rights and interests of

all parties involved in e-commerce, such as users' personal information, for all parties

involved in e-commerce activities, including consumers, e-commerce operators and

1
(LAW), E-Commerce Law of the People's Republic of China ,2018
third-party e-commerce platform operators. For example, it has strengthened the

protection of intellectual property rights, privacy and consumers. At the same time, it

has standardized e-commerce behaviors, guided enterprises to standardize their

operations, maintained market order and standardized cross-border business, so as to

promote the sustainable and healthy development of e-commerce and create a good

environment for China's e-commerce industry.

1.4 The role of e-commerce law

Firstly, under the protection of rights and interests of "E-commerce Law", e-

commerce operators are protected to enjoy free competitive market. Through legal

regulation and government supervision, companies engaged in e-commerce industry

can understand the laws and regulations of e-commerce, clear development goals,

formulate industry rules, strengthen industry self-discipline, and bring good

development for the development and innovation of e-commerce. In addition, the law

also protects the rights and interests of consumers, y regulating the behavior of

operators. To ensure that consumers can feel at ease to enjoy the convenience brought

by e-commerce

Secondly, under the normative order of "E-commerce Law", it standardizes the

behavior of e-commerce, forbids infringement on the legitimate rights and interests of

other subjects, helps reduce the transaction disputes and commercial conflicts of e-

commerce, maintains the order of the market, and establishes a credible and healthy

environment for the transactions of e-commerce market.

Finally, in the "E-commerce law" to promote the development of e-commerce，

Provide various measures to support the development of e-commerce, such as

improving infrastructure, upgrading import supervision, etc., to prepare for the

development of e-commerce industry, to promote the development of e-commerce and

enable more people to enjoy the convenience brought by e-commerce.

2. Analysis of typical cases

2.1 The Case about Qunar misleading consumers

Qunar.Com, the defendant in this case, is a leading travel search engine in China and

the largest Chinese online travel website in the world. Founded in 2005, Qunar.Com

provides consumers with travel information services such as air tickets, hotels,

conferences and so on. The plaintiff Xie Danjing bought an air ticket from Qunar, but

the flight involved was cancelled for some reason and could not take off at the

scheduled time. Qunar failed to timely inform the plaintiff of the flight cancellation and

the handling method. The plaintiff Xie Danjing believes that because Qunar did not

inform the processing of the refund of the ticket, it is unable to change the ticket,

causing losses to the plaintiff, so she sues.

Where the court in the first instance that net in case of cancellation of the flight

involving lawsuit, where net did not inform the contracting lily net, and there exists

significant difference in knowing rescheduled and refunds, for consumers to choose to

upgrade prior to refund cases, not upgrade, refund the difference to make full and

accurate disclosure that is automatic voice telephone call up passengers to make a

choice, Violate the principle of honesty and credit, has constituted a breach of contract,

qunar net judgment to assume liability for compensation.2

2
Yan min,E-commerce people come in: Big data tells you how much e-commerce has been
affected in the six months since the implementation of the E-commerce Law?（In
Chinese）,2019
 Legal basis: According to article 17 of the "China’s E-commerce Law", it is clearly

pointed out that e-commerce operators should disclose commodity or service

information comprehensively, truly, accurately and timely to protect consumers' right

to know and choice. E-commerce operators shall not deceive or mislead consumers by

conducting false or misleading commercial publicity in the form of fictitious

transactions or fabricated user evaluations. 3

2.2 Case analysis and thinking

As can be seen from the above cases, under the legal regulation of the "E-commerce

Law", e-commerce operators must disclose information on the commodities and

services they provide accurately, comprehensively, truthfully and timely in the process

of operation, and shall not deceive or mislead consumers by false publicity. At the same

time, consumers also have the right to seek compensation for the losses caused by

improper operation of e-commerce operators. This has greatly protected the rights and

interests of consumers. In addition, it also effectively standardized the responsibility

and behavior of e-commerce, established a credible and healthy environment for e-

commerce market transactions, so that consumers can feel at ease to consume, and

promote the development of e-commerce industry.

Generally, Article 17 of the "Electronic Commerce Law" will not be used alone in

the face of online shopping contract disputes and in the face of fraud by merchants and

is often used together with the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the protection

of consumer rights and Interests". The above case is special, because the platform did

not deceive consumers, but did not explicitly and comprehensively disclose service

information to consumers, and there is no fraud. Therefore, only the "e-commerce law"

3 Article 17 of the China’s E-commerce Law, (LAW), E-Commerce Law of the People's Republic
of China ,2018
was violated. However, in recent years, qunar can still be seen illegal behavior. How

can the "E-commerce Law" be used with other laws to comprehensively protect the

rights and interests of consumers?

3. How does China's E-commerce Law combine with other laws to protect

consumer rights

3.1 Cybersecurity Law of People’s Republic of China

China's E-commerce Law is closely related to China's Cyber Security Law, for
example, in the protection of personal information. Article 23 An e-commerce business
shall, when collecting or using the individual information of its users, observe the
provisions on protection of individual information in the relevant laws and
administrative regulations. 4Cyber Security Law clearly states that network operators
must obtain the consent of users or themselves before collecting personal information.
It is strictly prohibited to illegally collect information of others, disclose, tamper with
or destroy the personal information collected by them, and it is strictly prohibited to
illegally sell or provide personal information such as address and name to others. Thus,
the two laws complement each other and perfection the protection of consumers'
personal information. Enterprises can also know more clearly how to legally collect
consumers' personal information and ensure the safety of users' or consumers' personal
information.5

3.2 Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China

When operators of e-commerce platforms engage in brushing behaviors, such as

publishing brushing links on the shop home page for consumers to browse, purchase

and evaluate products, so as to improve the evaluation level and reputation of the shop,

fake commercial propaganda is used to deceive and mislead consumers. Shall violate

both Article 17 of "China's e-Commerce Law" and Article 8 of "China's Anti-Unfair

4
(LAW), E-Commerce Law of the People's Republic of China ,2018
5By King & Wood Mallesons, Comparison between the Electronic Commerce Law and the
Cyber Security Law, Website, 2018
Competition Law" any false or misleading commercial publicity in respect of the

performance, functions, quality, sales, user reviews and honors received of its

commodities. In order to defraud or mislead consumers. According to China's anti-

unfair Competition Law "Article 22 Violators should immediately stop their illegal

activities and be fined up to RMB 2 million according to the seriousness of the case.

4. Rights and interests of consumers

The consumer rights involved in e-commerce Law mainly include the right to safety,

the right to know, the right to fair trade, the right to information protection, the right to

seek compensation and so on.

4.1 Right of information protection

Consumers' personal information is protected. According to the "E-commerce Law",

e-commerce operators must comply with relevant laws and regulations on personal

information protection when collecting or using users' personal information. At the

same time, e-commerce operators clearly pointed out the user information query,

correction, deletion, and user logout method, need to verify the identity of the user to

provide services, not unreasonable conditions to obstruct the user to the above

operations, and when the user logout account must immediately delete all information

of the user. Under the protection mentioned above, consumers can avoid personal

information leakage or illegal use, resulting in personal property losses.

4.2 Security rights

The "Electronic Commerce Law" has ensured the personal and property safety of

consumers. It is stipulated in the law that the goods sold and services provided by e-

commerce platform operators must comply with the laws and regulations prohibiting
transactions under administrative law and meet the requirements of personal and

property safety. If the e-commerce platform illegally sells or provides goods and

services that do not meet the requirements and lacks the supervision on the behavior of

infringing consumers and fails to take timely measures to cause losses to consumers,

the market supervision and administration department shall order correction within a

specified time limit, suspend business for rectification or impose a fine. This greatly

ensures the safety of consumers, so that customers can feel at ease to use or purchase

e-commerce services and commodities

4.3 Right to know

The "Electronic Commerce Law" ensures consumers' right to know about the

transaction parties and the situation and quality of goods and services. According to the

regulations, business operators must make public their business licenses and

qualification certificates, the closure of business needs to be made public for 30

consecutive days, and electronic service operators must disclose commodity or service

information in a comprehensive, true, accurate and timely manner. This means that

consumers cannot cheat or conceal information about the goods and services they sell

and be transparent and open. At the same time, it is necessary to publicize trading rules

and credit evaluation rules, mark self-run business and mark search results of different

commodities or services to consumers in a variety of ways to protect consumers' right

to know. It is not allowed to mislead consumers or carry out false propaganda, such as

mislead consumers to think that the evaluation of commodities is high through online

brushing. This shows that the consumer's right to know has been guaranteed

4.4 Fair trade rights

 According to the "E-commerce Law", e-commerce operators are required to disclose

information on commodities and services, not to mislead and deceive consumers, and

not to impose unreasonable restrictions, such as forcing consumers to use coupons. In

addition, it is not allowed to add unreasonable conditions and fancy charges. It is

necessary to make clear the definition and standard terms of the contract to ensure that

consumers enjoy fair trade

4.5 Claims

The " China’s E-commerce Law " stipulates that e-commerce operators shall bear

corresponding responsibilities for losses caused to consumers due to faults of the

platform, infringement of intellectual property rights, and electronic payment service

providers shall bear the losses caused to consumers due to errors of the payment

platform, thus guaranteeing the loss of consumers. In accordance with Article 58, e-

commerce platforms are encouraged to establish a guaranteed mechanism for the

quality of goods and services.6 If the platforms promise to pay indemnity to consumers,

they should pay the indemnity first. If the platforms fail to properly supervise operators,

consumers can ask them to assume joint and several liability to protect consumers' right

to claim.

5. Responsibilities and obligations of e-commerce operators and platform

operators

5.1 E -commerce Operators

6
China Market Supervision News, Consumer Rights and Interests Protection under the Framework of
the "E-commerce Law” Related Issues Website, 2019 (In Chinese)
 E-commerce operators should follow the principles of Voluntariness, equality,

fairness and good faith, abide by laws and business ethics, participate in market

competition fairly, safeguard consumer rights, network security and personal

information and other obligations, and ensure that the quality of products and services

will not be reduced due to e-commerce. And accept the supervision of the government

and society, if the operators break the law will be punished according to law. In addition

to the responsibilities and obligations mentioned in the third part, e-commerce operators

also need to include the following responsibilities and obligations :(1) to register as

market subjects, except for agricultural and sideline products and handmade products,

all of them need to do industrial and commercial registration. 7 (2) To pay taxes

according to law, e-commerce operators need to truthfully declare and pay taxes, fulfill

their tax obligations and enjoy tax preferences according to law. (3) Industries that need

to obtain relevant administrative licenses must obtain them in accordance with the law.

(4) Give consumers the right to choose, prohibit to only provide consumers with the

search results of goods or services tailored to their personal characteristics and consent

to tie-in. (5) Engage in cross-border business in accordance with the law, must comply

with the import and export of goods, intellectual property rights protection and

inspection laws and regulations. (6) Prohibit abuse of dominant market position,

exclude and restrict competition, such as restricting users or consumers from using

services or products of other competitors. (7) Provide e-commerce data information to

the competent authorities according to law. (8) Timely return the deposit collected from

the toll collectors in accordance with the law, and users should also issue paper or

electronic invoices with legal effect after consumption

7
Yu nengjun, Interpretation of the Electronic Commerce Law, Website,2018（In Chinese）
5.2 E -commerce platform operators 8

E-platform operators need to fulfill their responsibility to supervise the operators

within their platforms and to safeguard the safety and rights of users. Verify business

operators' personal information such as name, address, registration and establish a

regular check and verify file; Report the identity information of operators on the

platform to the market supervision and regulation department, and remind the

unregistered operators to register according to law as soon as possible; If any operator

within the Platform is found to have infringed upon intellectual property rights or

harmed the rights and interests of consumers, it shall immediately take relevant

measures and report to the relevant authorities; E-platform operators need to ensure

network security and the integrity and confidentiality of commodity services and

transaction information; Publicizing service agreements and trading rules shall not

provide services for business operators by way of bidding; The operator's right to

operate independently must not be infringed. Failure to perform duties and obligations

may lead to legal liability.

6. Deficiencies and suggestions for improvement

6.1 Insufficient legal supervision

China lacks understanding of intellectual property rights. Unlike the United States,

Enterprises or platform operators cannot play a leading role in e-commerce in China

and need to rely on government supervision to conduct transactions in the e-commerce

environment. In recent years, Taobao and other online shopping platforms can still find

a lot of poor quality, counterfeit goods and the wrong version of the goods. Illegal acts

8
Yu nengjun, Interpretation of the Electronic Commerce Law, Website,2018（In Chinese）
of increasing credit rating and user evaluation through fictitious transactions such as

brushing still exist, which makes the quality of products and services not guaranteed

when consumers shop and damages individual rights and interests. Therefore, the law

needs to strengthen market supervision and effectively protect the rights and interests

of consumers and product quality.

6.2 Clearly list the industries that need to obtain relevant administrative licenses

According to Article 12 of the “China’ China’s E-commerce Law”9 mentions that e-

commerce operators need to obtain relevant administrative licenses in accordance with

the law, but it does not clearly specify the industries that need to obtain licenses. For

example, what industries should emerge businesses such as takeout express be included

in, and whether they need to obtain administrative licenses? As a result, some new

operators do not know much about the need to obtain industrial licensing administrative

licensing and may have the opportunity to cause violations. Therefore, it is suggested

that the licensing industry should be clearly identified in the law to give clear guidance

to operators.

6.3 Strengthen the punishment intensity of legal liability

The legal liability of the e-commerce Law is relatively light. 10 For example, if the

platform operator infringes the independent management right of the operator within

the platform, the minimum fine is 50,000 yuan, and the maximum fine is 2 million yuan.

This is basically no deterrent to the platform operators, and the actual benefits are far

more than the fines, failing to effectively prevent the platform operators from infringing

(LAW), E-Commerce Law of the People's Republic of China ,2018

9

10
Ruonan Yu The Legal Application of Either-or Choice of E-commerce Platforms: Thinking the Case of
Alibaba Group as an Example, 2021
on the self-service management rights. Therefore, the punishment intensity of legal

liability should be strengthened, such as increasing the amount of fines, confiscation of

illegally obtained benefits, etc., to effectively stop the illegal behaviors of platform

operators.

6.4 Government should popularize "E-commerce Law"

Many consumers and e-commerce industry do not know enough about "E-commerce

Law", and do not know how to protect individual rights and interests through this law.

Operators may violate laws and regulations due to their lack of understanding of e-

commerce industry. Therefore, the government needs to popularize the "E-commerce

Law of China", so that more consumers and enterprises can deeply understand the role

of the law, the protection of consumers and the laws and regulations of the e-commerce

industry, so that the law can play a maximum role.

Summary
In recent years, China's e-commerce industry has developed rapidly, with many e-
commerce enterprises emerging. China’s E-commerce laws and regulations,
government supervision and assistance are becoming more and more perfect. The "E-
commerce Law of China" protects the rights and interests of consumers, regulates the
behaviors, obligations and responsibilities of the e-commerce industry, and establishes
a healthy and safe development environment for the e-commerce industry. However,
"E-commerce Law" still needs to strengthen legal supervision and protect the rights and
interests of consumers. Many e-commerce platforms still have many loopholes, poor
reputation, the quality of goods and services to be improved, such as Taobao often
appear counterfeit and poor-quality products, consumers complain, many consumers
do not know how to protect their rights through law. At the same time, many enterprises
do not realize that they are violating the e-commerce law, which is related to the
Chinese government's lack of awareness of the law and the platform. Therefore,
governments and platforms need to strengthen supervision.
In view of the above problems, China needs to strengthen the popularization of the
"E-commerce Law", so that more consumers can understand the provisions of the law,
protect their rights and interests and avoid the occurrence of illegal behaviors, which
can promote the healthy development of the e-commerce industry. At the same time, it
should strengthen the supervision of punishment and the operators inside the platform,
put an end to illegal behavior and ensure the quality of products and services, put an
end to mislead and deceive the consumer behavior, only companies and countries with
one to e-commerce industry together to create a good environment, let the consumer
can be at ease shopping, enjoy the electronic commerce brings the convenience for life.
Bibliography
[1] Zhang Dan and Guo Yaping, E-Commerce Law: Obligations and responsibilities of
operators, Website, 2018
[2] Brenda, China's First E-Commerce Law Published,Website,2018
[3] Roberto Gilardino, China: China's First E-commerce Law To Go Into Effect From
1 January 2019,Website,2022
[4]Legal Briefing from Zhong Lun Law Firm, Chinese e-commerce law: new
challenges and new opportunities, Website, 2019
[5] Luke Dale, CHINA'S E-COMMERCE SHAKE-UP: EFFECTS OF NEW E-
COMMERCE LAW ON ONLINE BUSINESSES, Website , 2019
[6] Trevor Little, A detailed look at the positives and negatives of China’s new e-
commerce law, Website , 2018
[7] Ruonan Yu, The Legal Application of Either-or Choice of E-commerce Platforms:
Thinking the Case of Alibaba Group as an Example, 2021
[8] Blog post, CHINA’S NEW E-COMMERCE LAW IMPROVES ONLINE
MARKET REGULATION, Website, 2019
[9] (LAW), E-Commerce Law of the People's Republic of China ,2018
[10] Michele Ferrante, China’s new E-commerce Law: tools in the fight against IP
rights infringement, Website,2020
[11] Sara Xia, Implications of China's E-Commerce Law, Website, 2019
[12] (LAW), Cybersecurity Law of the People's Republic of China,2016
[13] Eugene Clark, China's new e-commerce law: A step in the right direction,
Website,2019
[14] By King & Wood Mallesons, Comparison between the Electronic Commerce Law
and the Cyber Security Law, Website, 2018
[15] Rogier Creemers, Paul Triolo, and Graham Webster,Translation: Cybersecurity
Law of the People’s Republic of China, Website,2018
[16] Zen Soo, Here’s how China’s new e-commerce law will affect consumers,
platform operators, Website, 2019
[17] Kun Fang, How China’s e-commerce law will affect retailers, sellers, and
consumers, Website2019
[18] SIPS.com, China’s New Ecommerce Law: A Summary and Assessment of IP
Provisions,Website,2019
[19] China’s New E-Commerce Law and Its Foreign Company Impacts, Part 2
[20] Jie Huang, Comparison of E-commerce Regulations in Chinese and American
FTAs: Converging Approaches, Diverging Contents, and Polycentric Directions?
[21] Lauren Eiko Fujino, China’s New e-Commerce Law: Businesses Should Ready
for Stronger Compliance Norms, 2018
[22] (Law), Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China (2019
Amendment) [Effective],2019
[23] Zhang,Laney, China: E-Commerce Law Passed, Website, 2018
[24] Prof. Dr. Hong Xue,An Instant Analysis Of Chinese Electronic Commerce Law,
Website, 2019
[25] Zhang Huimin, China's first e-commerce law offers consumers more protection,
Website, 2019
[26] Yu nengjun, Interpretation of the Electronic Commerce Law, Website,2018（In
Chinese）
[27] Yan min, E-commerce people come in: Big data tells you how much e-commerce
has been affected in the six months since the implementation of the E-commerce Law?
（In Chinese）, Website, 2019
[28] Xiaofeng, Improvement of E-commerce Platform Responsibility Legislation for
Consumer Protection from the Perspective of Informational Interests, Website, 2022
（In Chinese）
[29] Cai Peng, Wang Mengdi , E-commerce platform responsibility and consumer
protection, Website, 2020（In Chinese）
[30] China Market Supervision News, Consumer Rights and Interests Protection under
the Framework of the "E-commerce Law” Related Issues, Website, 2019 (In Chinese)