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Second-hand e-commerce platforms are mainly based on individual transactions, and the pressure of transaction supervision and content review is indeed great, but this cannot be used as an excuse for the platforms to repeatedly "punish themselves by drinking three cups of wine". Recently, many media outlets disclosed that some netizens found that on Xianyu, there were many sellers under the banners of "Giant", "Second-hand Air Conditioner", "Apple Card Removal Pin", "10-cent Coin", etc., who were suspected of engaging in borderline or even pornographic transactions.

The platform responded quickly: We will continue to increase the intensity of network rectification, regularly publicize illegal and irregular accounts and content, and welcome supervision and reporting from netizens. If verified, the account will be blocked or its use will be restricted.

Faced with a massive amount of accounts, content and transaction data, the platform does have audit pressure, especially under the cover of so-called "code words" and "black language", such illegal and irregular transactions are more concealed. However, despite the difficult struggle of "the higher the road, the higher the devil", the platform cannot always think of post-event supervision after arousing public opinion, and cannot turn "welcome user reports" into an excuse for its own lazy governance.

After all, it is not the first time that the second-hand platform has been involved in related controversies. From 2020 to 2024, there have been major public opinions almost every year. From the suspected vulgar and pornographic second-hand transactions of underwear and stockings, to the "soft pornography" of chatting and playing with others, to the recently exposed "Giant" face-to-face transactions, the concealment is getting stronger and stronger, but the scale is getting bigger and bigger, making it difficult for the platform to be convincing in the past few years.

For some businesses, the platform spends more money but does not generate direct benefits, but it must be done. Security audit is one of these businesses. It has nothing to do with benefits or efficiency. It not only requires increased technical investment, but also consumes redundant manual "stupid methods". However, since it is related to safety and fairness, the platform has a responsibility to pay.

In fact, since user reports can be reviewed and verified, it means that illegal transactions such as pornography and other illegal transactions such as fraud, fake orders, etc. have similarities in the review and prevention mode. It depends on whether the platform is willing to pay more costs.

The above-mentioned transaction goods and so-called "code words" and "jargon" exposed by netizens are full of many direct signals of violations. For example, the sale of second-hand Giant bicycles, but the product description contains pictures of beautiful women, which is obviously not in line with common sense; the price is seriously deviated from the value of the product itself, and the second-hand transactions such as "Apple original card ejector pin" and "one-cent coin" cannot be covered up by "freedom of buying and selling" in any way.

There must be something wrong when things are abnormal. The second-hand market allows novel transactions and valuable bargains, but it cannot become a hotbed for illegal transactions. Only through technical means, making full use of big data, artificial intelligence and other applications, it has been possible to significantly reduce similar harmful information and trading behaviors. In addition, sufficient manual review and inspection can make the platform ecology healthier and avoid accidental injuries caused by technical means.

What's more, platforms that are prone to problems are often those with large amounts of data and transaction volumes. The technical reserves and capabilities of large platforms are often the moats they often talk about.

When small problems occur frequently, it is either because the technology is slapped in the face or because of the attitude problem. If you don’t want to choose either of these two options, then work harder to rectify and spend some money to solve them, and don’t wait for it to become a hot topic again in a year...

Beijing Business Daily commentator Zhang Xuwang