"Please, stop cheating my mom out of life-saving money. ”
Recently, a netizen posted a number of videos saying that she had a debt of 200,000 yuan to treat her mother's cancer, but her mother used all the money to buy medicine to buy "anti-cancer" cosmetics sold by a million-level Douyin anchor.
At present, the account involved with 1.055 million followers has been banned.
According to the lawyer's analysis, the anchor involved may constitute "false advertising", suspected of violating the "Advertising Law" and the "Consumer Rights Protection Law", and in serious cases, it may even constitute the crime of fraud in the Criminal Law, and the live broadcast platform involved may also be liable for lack of supervision.
On April 19, Douyin netizen "Roll Huahua", who claimed to be a cosmetics inspector, posted a video saying that her mother was diagnosed with lung cancer last year, and it took her a year to make up her mother's surgery fee with a debt of 200,000 yuan, "working in the company during the day and delivering food at night", but her mother's health is getting worse and worse, and she asked her relatives to learn that her mother used the money she saved to buy medicine to buy skin care products that claimed to "contain collagen peptides" and "prevent cancer". "I thought it was strange at first, my mom had never used skincare products in her life, until I opened your live broadcast room. "Roll over Flowey," says in the video.
The account suspected of selling "anti-cancer" cosmetics has been banned
"Let your family never touch this word again, two points, one wide, three mouths, and a big mountain. In the video intercepted by "Roll Over Huahua", the anchor Zhang did not directly say the word "cancer", but implied that the product could prevent cancer, and the word "cancer" was also typed in the comment area. In the upper left corner of the live broadcast room, there is a line of small words "Fortunately, with collagen, our family can be neatly together".
In the video, "Tumbling Huahua" also demonstrated and pointed out that Zhang's operation of using alcohol to detect the content of collagen peptides in the live broadcast room is nonsense, and the so-called "fish gelatin" is just a thickener added to it - xanthan gum. She also said that after checking the relevant information, she did not find any data showing that collagen peptides can cure cancer.
In the videos released by "Roll Over Huahua" on April 16 and April 23, many of Zhang's "brainwashing" words in the live broadcast room were intercepted, and the main audience was the elderly.
"Do you know how Anita Mui and Yao Beina left? They just need to have collagen peptides. "What are you shooting? It's the rest of your life. Zhang declared that he did not make "money for losing conscience", saying that the product was "losing money" on the shelves, "such a thing, everyone loses 300-500 yuan." He also told viewers to be grateful, and said that he was purifying all sentient beings and transmitting positive energy.
However, in many videos intercepted by "Roll Over Huahua" and other netizens, Zhang, who claimed to sell goods at a loss, liked Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Ferrari sports cars, and lived in a mansion.
In the video released by "Tumbling Huahua", the live broadcast room, the anchor and the product are all coded, but some netizens pointed out that the brand involved is Manboni, and the anchor Zhang is "Zhang Qi" who claims to be the founder of the brand.
The Douyin account involved "Zhang Qi Manboni brand founder" has 1.055 million followers. After being exposed, the account was quickly banned, and Douyin customer service previously replied to the media that it had received relevant reports, but it was impossible to inquire about why the specific account was banned.
According to the official website of the Trademark Office of the State Intellectual Property Office, from May 2022 to March 2024, a total of 8 Manboni brand trademarks have been applied for registration, all of whom are Wang Yuanyuan, and the registration location is Baiyun District, Guangzhou.
Trademarks are used in a wide range of ways, including edible foods such as bird's nest and konjac jelly, soaps, face and body cosmetics, etc.
Lawyer: The situation is serious and can constitute the crime of fraud
"Fraud through the marketing of anti-cancer skin care products not only infringes on the property rights and interests of the parties, but also delays normal diagnosis and treatment, endangering life, health and safety. Regarding the above situation, Liu Kai, a lawyer at Beijing Zhongwen (Changsha) Law Firm, believes that if the product promoted by the anchor Zhang in the live broadcast room has indeed not undergone clinical trial data to support its anti-cancer efficacy, and is packaged as having anti-cancer efficacy, then the behavior may constitute "false advertising", suspected of violating the "Advertising Law" and "Consumer Rights Protection Law", and in serious cases, it may even constitute the crime of fraud in the Criminal Law.
At the same time, if a platform fails to effectively fulfill its regulatory responsibilities, resulting in the spread and persistence of illegal acts, there may be regulatory failure liability. "Online livestreaming platforms have regulatory responsibility for regulating the conduct of anchors, and platforms shall review and manage influencer accounts and advertising content, so as to protect users' lawful rights and interests and the authenticity of information. Liu Kai said.
According to the Advertising Law, advertisements must not contain false or misleading content, and must not deceive or mislead consumers. Where false advertisements for goods or services related to consumers' lives and health are published, causing harm to consumers, their advertising agents, advertisement publishers, and advertising spokespersons shall bear joint and several liability with the advertisers.
The Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests stipulates that if a consumer's lawful rights and interests are harmed due to the use of false advertising or other false advertising methods to provide goods or services, a consumer may claim compensation from the operator. Where advertising agents or publishers publish false advertisements, consumers may also request that the competent administrative departments give punishments.