"I am an Internet celebrity, and my junior brother is a 'hot boy at the bottom', he has more than 10 million followers, and I have 2.8 million fans. The flight was delayed for 5 hours and I asked the airline to give me special care. Recently, a man was dissatisfied with the flight delay, revealed his identity as an Internet celebrity, accused the flight attendant, questioned the captain's name, and then posted a rights protection video on social media, which attracted widespread attention.
In response to this matter, the airline said that the flight delay was caused by weather conditions, and it would try its best to coordinate and solve the passengers' demands. The Internet celebrity "Hot Kid" mentioned by the man issued a statement saying that he did not know and had nothing to do with the passengers in the video, and asked the platform to remove the infringing video.
Asking for special care as an Internet celebrity, similar incidents are not uncommon, which makes many netizens "drop their jaws", and they can't help but ask such questions: Who is promoting the unhealthy trend of "Internet celebrity privilege"?
In the opinion of the interviewed experts, the emergence of so-called rights protection incidents using the identity of Internet celebrities is not only due to the popularity and influence of social media, but also due to the improvement of rights protection awareness, economic interest drive and weak legal awareness, etc., and the society should pay attention to and reflect on this phenomenon, regulate the words and deeds of Internet celebrities, and avoid negative impacts.
Seeking extrajudicial privileges in the name of rights protection
According to eyewitnesses to the above-mentioned incident, the flight was delayed due to heavy snowfall that day, and the man was emotional, asked to wait on the plane, otherwise he would complain, and also threatened to send a video to expose the staff, so that the staff were laid off and unemployed, and abused the staff.
The staff of the airline to which the delayed flight belonged confirmed that there was indeed a flight delayed due to weather conditions that day, and it was planned to depart at 12:20, and the actual departure time was 18:25. The flight delay caused by the weather was not due to the airline, so there was no compensation, but meals were issued. Airlines do not have special preferential treatment for Internet celebrities, and they all treat them equally.
The incident sparked heated discussions on social media. Some netizens said that as an Internet celebrity with a large number of fans, he should lead by example and abide by social morality and laws and regulations, rather than using his influence to exercise privileges. Some netizens also called for online platforms to strengthen the supervision and guidance of Internet celebrity behaviors to avoid similar incidents from happening again.
Chang Sha, a lawyer at Beijing Jingjing Law Firm, told reporters that rights protection refers to the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of individuals or groups, and the relationship between passengers and airlines is a service contract relationship, and if the rights and interests of passengers are damaged due to flight delays, then passengers have the right to claim compensation or take other legal measures to protect their rights and interests, regardless of whether they have Internet celebrity status.
"Rights protection requires compliance with laws, regulations and moral norms, and cannot use violence, threats and other means to solve problems. At the same time, rights protection also requires respect for the rights and dignity of others. Using the large number of fans to suppress others and threaten and abuse them is obviously an infringement of the legitimate rights and interests of others. Chang Sha said that rights protection is the right of every citizen, but it should be carried out in a legal and reasonable way, and rights cannot be abused or infringed on the rights and interests of others.
Yu Feng, a researcher at the Center for Legislation and Rule of Law Strategy at East China Normal University, who has written books such as Entertainment Law, said that Internet celebrities generally refer to people who become popular because of an event or behavior in real life or online life. Internet celebrities are often the same as "big Vs" and various well-known bloggers, etc., with the characteristics of having a large number of fans, attracting much attention, and being able to publish information and quickly disseminate information through personal social media accounts, and then have social influence.
In Yu Feng's view, the essence of using the identity of an Internet celebrity to suppress others is that Internet celebrities rely on their millions of fans and their social influence far greater than ordinary people to achieve their private goals. "Some influencers use their status and influence to seek extralegal privileges, a phenomenon that deserves social attention and reflection. The law gives a negative evaluation to the act of achieving an illegal purpose by lawful means. The use of Internet celebrity status to carry out the so-called 'rights protection' has the name of rights protection, but in fact, it is to obtain extralegal privileges with the domination, guidance and interference of a huge number of fans. ”
It is suspected of violating morality and violating the law
"Internet celebrity rights protection" is not an isolated case.
In February 2023, an influencer with more than 3 million followers on a short video platform also had a similar rights protection behavior - he wanted to ride a motorcycle on the highway and was stopped by the staff, and the motorcycle hit a traffic cone and fell to the ground. In fact, there are obvious road signs prohibiting motorcycles on this section of the road. In this regard, many netizens commented that the video rights protection of Internet celebrities is more like using their large number of fans to engage in public opinion kidnapping.
Previously, it was reported that many "food bloggers" asked to eat overlord meals in the name of visiting stores or defending their rights.
In Yu Feng's view, rights protection itself has legal legitimacy, but rights protection must also be measured. If the "degree" of rights protection is exceeded or exceeded, it is the bottom line and red line of the law, and it will be subject to legal regulation, and it may bear civil liability, and it may also involve picking quarrels and provoking troubles in public security, or even extortion in criminal law.
"If an influencer uses inappropriate means in the process of defending his rights, such as threats, intimidation, insults, defamation, etc., he may be suspected of the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble. Acts of picking quarrels and provoking troubles where the circumstances are minor and the harm is not great are to be punished as ordinary illegal conduct. If an Internet celebrity leaks the private information of others without authorization in the process of defending his rights, causing serious consequences, he may also be suspected of the crime of infringing on citizens' personal information, and if he defames the reputation of others, he may be suspected of defamation. Chang Sha analyzed that Internet celebrities should abide by laws, regulations and ethics in the process of protecting their rights, and do so in a legal and reasonable way.
"The unhealthy atmosphere of 'influencer privilege' may lead some people to pursue influencer status by unscrupulous means, and even violate laws and ethical norms. For example, some influencers may use their influence to carry out improper commercial publicity and promotion, which will mislead consumers and cause losses, and even use their influence to carry out fraud, pyramid schemes and other illegal acts. Chang Sha said that this unhealthy trend should be stopped.
Consolidate regulatory responsibilities and draw red lines
In Yu Feng's view, some fans' habitual favor of Internet celebrities' bad behavior, a small number of Internet celebrities' own pursuit of privileges and disregard for moral laws, and some platforms' poor supervision of Internet celebrities have contributed to the unhealthy trend of "Internet celebrity privilege".
Chang Sha further analyzed that the reasons for the breeding of "Internet celebrity privileges" include: the impact of the fan economy, in the Internet celebrity economic environment, the number of Internet celebrities is often linked to their commercial value, some Internet celebrities try to get more attention through special treatment to seek commercial interests, some people worship the identity of Internet celebrities, thinking that Internet celebrities should enjoy more privileges and preferential treatment, and the lack of laws and moral norms may lead some Internet celebrities to take advantage of legal loopholes to try to get more benefits.
According to Dong Chenyu, a researcher at the Center for Journalism and Social Development of Renmin University of Chinese, who has long been concerned about the phenomenon of Internet celebrity anchors, in recent years, whether from the level of professional skills or standardized governance, the professionalism of Internet celebrities has been continuously strengthened, and many Internet celebrities with millions or even tens of millions of fans are incubated by MCN (multi-channel network) companies or contracted personal studios. ”
In today's era of "everyone can be an anchor", the professionalism of online anchors is becoming more and more widely recognized, and it has become particularly important to build a professional system guarantee and draw a "red line" for online anchors. "Anchoring has become a new profession, and industry norms and practitioner ethics should be established. Yu Feng said that from the "Code of Conduct for Online Live Broadcast Marketing" to the "Notice on Strengthening the Management of Online Show Live Broadcast and E-commerce Live Broadcast", and then to the "Code of Conduct for Online Anchors", etc., the system of supervision and standardization, self-discipline and other discipline has been continuously improved in recent years.
Dong Chenyu believes that relevant platforms should improve anchor training and establish incentive mechanisms. If an influencer has completed a certain training or has complied well with a certain policy, they can be incentivized through measures such as traffic support.
"In real life, some online self-media, marketing accounts and Internet big Vs, in order to attract attention and traffic, create curious information, provoke netizens' emotions or follow the trend to hype hot events, some of which are fueled by MCN companies, or even led and planned by MCN companies. Therefore, it is very necessary to regulate MCN companies in accordance with the law and emphasize the supervision and guidance of MCN companies on the behavior of Internet celebrities. Yu Feng said.
Yu Feng believes that as an online platform for Internet celebrities to express their voices, it is an important channel for the formation, dissemination and diffusion of Internet celebrity influence. Online platforms can strengthen the supervision and guidance of influencers' conduct by recording fan evaluations, regulatory investigations, punishment information, and so forth in the online celebrity integrity evaluation system, and blacklisting influencers who have seriously violated laws and regulations, the moral requirements of public figures, and polluted the environment.
Dong Chenyu also mentioned that the professionalism of Internet celebrity anchors can correct the development direction of the industry, avoid the industry from being in a state of barbaric growth, and put forward assessment and certification requirements for anchors with a certain number of fans, or give full play to the role of the live broadcast industry association, promote the establishment of a credit evaluation system for online anchors, form a threshold for Internet celebrity anchors, exit mechanisms, etc., and continue to purify cyberspace.
(Source: Rule of Law Daily)
![Yang Yuxing went to Luojia Town to supervise grain production and procurement on the spot[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)