can all “out-of-control” rewards be recovered?
2024-09-13
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case brief
wei (male) and wang (female) are husband and wife and have two sons. wei's work outside the home is the main source of family income. in september 2022, wang met a male online anchor named chen through the douyin platform and began to follow chen's live broadcasts. later, the two developed an improper offline relationship.
in order to maintain an improper relationship with chen, wang tried to please chen by giving her large rewards in the live broadcast room. from september 2022 to march 2023, wang gave her more than 6 million douyin coins (about 600,000 yuan) in rewards through the platform. after wang's husband wei found out that there was money exchange between the two, he asked chen to return the reward money wang gave him in the live broadcast room, but chen refused. wei then filed a lawsuit against the two in court.
court hearing
wang's gift to chen through live broadcast is a gift, and the relationship between the two should be deemed as a gift contract. in this case, wang's gift was intended to maintain an illicit relationship with chen outside of marriage, and the large amount of reward was made with the common property of the couple, which violated the principle of "good customs" in civil law. therefore, the court determined that wang's gift to chen was invalid, and wei could ask chen to return part of it based on the fact that the gifted property was the common property of the couple. chen was ordered to return 300,000 yuan to wei.
judge's opinion
01
are online rewards considered gifts? can they be recovered?
the legal relationship of rewarding live broadcasts on the internet is relatively complex, involving the legal relationship between the platform, users, and anchors. in this case, anchor chen earned income through live broadcasts on the douyin platform. the two parties agreed to split the live broadcast income in a 50-50 ratio. chen and the douyin platform have a cooperative relationship. wang registered an account in accordance with the platform's requirements to enter the douyin live broadcast platform and watch live performances. the two parties performed their rights and assumed obligations in accordance with the signed service contract. wang and the douyin platform have a service contract relationship. wang's reward to anchor chen was an act of wang's own choice when watching the performance, not a mandatory requirement of the platform, and the amount of the reward was not equivalent to the quality of the performance provided by chen. the relationship between the two parties met the unilateral and gratuitous characteristics of a gift contract. therefore, wang's reward to chen constituted a gift. however, once a gift is made, it cannot be revoked at will. the law clearly stipulates restrictive conditions for the revocation of a gift contract, that is, users cannot recover their live rewards without special circumstances.
02
what remedies does one spouse have for the other spouse’s breach of fidelity?
in order to maintain his improper relationship with chen, wang gave large amounts of tips during the live broadcast. chen was aware of this and encouraged it. the actions of the two were contrary to public order and good morals and undermined the marriage and family system. according to article 8 of the civil code of the people's republic of china, "civil subjects shall not violate public order and good morals when engaging in civil activities", the gift between wang and chen is invalid because it violates public order and good morals. wei can claim that the gift contract is invalid and require chen to return the gifted property on the grounds that it is the common property of the husband and wife.
03
how much reward should be returned?
because the cooperation model agreed upon by chen and the platform is a 50-50 split, according to the cooperation agreement, the platform will deduct half of the cooperation fee. therefore, the amount of property that wei requested to be returned is limited to the 300,000 yuan that chen finally obtained. wei cannot request a refund of the profits that have already been obtained by the platform.
judge reminder
live streaming artists must pay attention to complying with relevant laws and regulations, strictly adhere to the bottom line of civilized morality, earn reasonable and legal income, and maintain a clear online space; internet users watching live broadcasts must also keep a clear head, not be impulsive or out of control, and must be subject to both moral constraints and legal regulations to avoid damaging the legitimate rights and interests of others due to their own behavior.
