Recently, the popular drama "My Name is Zhao Jiadi" on the Youku video platform is nearing the end of the broadcast. Many viewers specially purchased members in order to chase the drama in advance, but they did not expect to chase the end, and the "unlocked" episode also needed the help of friends, so the way of "slashing a knife" was complained by the audience. In this regard, the lawyer said that this kind of behavior is suspected of infringing on the consumer's right to choose, and the platform should be less "routine".
"I've spent money to buy memberships, but why do I need to invite friends to help watch two episodes in advance?" Do you need friends to help 'slash a knife' to watch a drama? Recently, in order to chase the popular drama "My name is Zhao Jiadi" on Youku in advance, Ms. Li deliberately opened a membership, and when she chased the 23rd and 24th episodes, she found that in order to "unlock" a new episode, she must invite 5 friends to help her to watch. It is worth mentioning that the invited helper can only successfully help once, which means that to unlock two episodes, you need to invite 10 different friends. "When I paid for membership, I didn't tell me to watch the show in advance and ask my friends to help?" Ms. Li felt very unreasonable.
The rules of the Youku platform show that this drama is only like the 23rd and 24th episodes, and it is an exclusive activity provided for members in advance under the normal update rules. The reporter found that according to the update rules of the show, the rights and interests of members were originally scheduled to watch 23 and 24 episodes at 20:00 on April 20, and the "exclusive activity" of inviting friends to help was from 10:00 on April 16 to 20:00 on April 20. But many viewers do not buy this: "Buying members is to have the right to preemptively watch, two more episodes have been released, and they still need help to watch, this routine is also too deep!" ”
In this regard, Peng Yanjun, a lawyer at Beijing Changhong Law Firm, said that this kind of behavior of the platform is suspected of violating the Anti-Unfair Competition Law. According to the relevant provisions, when selling goods, business operators must not tie up the goods against the wishes of the purchaser or attach other unreasonable conditions. "This kind of behavior of buying a membership that can watch the drama in advance, but asking for the help of friends to watch it, against the wishes of some viewers and attaching other unreasonable conditions, is suspected of violating the Anti-Unfair Competition Law." Peng Yanjun said.
Peng Yanjun also said that this method is also suspected of infringing on consumers' right to choose. According to the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law, consumers have the right to choose goods or services independently and the right to fair trade. "Although consumers seem to be able to choose whether to participate in this activity, if you want to watch these two episodes in advance, you must accept the way of inviting friends to help, in fact, consumers have no choice, which is unfair to consumers." Peng Yanjun explained.
In response to the "rules" of the video platform, lawyer Peng Yanjun said that the new sales means and business models explored in order to meet the differentiated and personalized needs of users are beyond reproach. But this kind of innovation should also follow business rules, respect user feelings, and have fewer "routines".
Source: Beijing Daily