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on september 17, the market supervision bureau of hefei high-tech zone, anhui province, reported that it had filed a case against three sheep network technology co., ltd. for live streaming sales of "hong kong meicheng mooncakes", which sparked heated discussion. the company was under investigation for suspected false advertising, misleading consumers and other behaviors.

zhou zhaocheng, a well-known lawyer at beijing anjian law firm, pointed out that the company is suspected of violating the advertising law. "if the violation is serious, it is indeed possible that the business license will be revoked."

>>>latest news

the main douyin account of "three sheep" stopped broadcasting on mid-autumn festival night, and "crazy little brother yang" lost 2.18 million fans

the reporter found that on september 17, the night of the mid-autumn festival, the main douyin account of "three sheep network" that had previously broadcast every afternoon did not broadcast live. relevant data showed that in the past month, the average daily number of viewers of "three sheep network" daily live broadcasts was 1.651 million, and the average daily sales were 1 million to 2.5 million. after reaching 7.5 million to 10 million on september 1, sales gradually declined, and sales on september 16 were only 100,000 to 250,000 yuan. the douyin account of "crazy little yangge" has lost 2.18 million fans in 30 days.

so far, the three sheep company, which is at the center of controversy, has not announced any after-sales compensation plan for the "hong kong meicheng mooncake". some netizens have uncovered complaints about the meicai kourou, a product they once allegedly sold through live streaming, that contained lymphatic meat, synthetic beef rolls, hair dryers without any certification, and toxic children's shoes.

>>> inflated prices

consumers may be misled into thinking that a lot of black truffles were used, and they may be able to claim compensation by "refund one and compensate ten"

"they say this mooncake is a 20-year-old hong kong brand, but in fact it is a shell company registered in hong kong. they claim that 'you have to queue up in hong kong to buy it' and 'the regular price is 238', but in fact this mooncake used to sell for 59 yuan, but now it sells for 169 yuan, which is nearly three times the price."

on september 18, wang hai, a well-known anti-counterfeiting expert, told the huashang daily dafeng news reporter that the "hong kong meicheng mooncakes" endorsed by xiao yangge during his live broadcast were suspected of misleading consumers, false advertising, and price fraud.

wang hai specifically pointed out that "hong kong meicheng mooncakes" do not meet food safety standards. black truffles are an ingredient that xiao yangge particularly emphasized, but "hong kong meicheng mooncakes" only indicated that the amount of black truffle lava sauce added was greater than or equal to 2%, and did not indicate the content of black truffles. such publicity would mislead consumers and make them mistakenly believe that this mooncake uses a lot of black truffles.

internet celebrity "xiao yangge" sells "hong kong meicheng mooncakes" during a live broadcast

wang hai referred to the "national food safety standard general rules for pre-packaged food labeling" (gb7718-2011) and pointed out that 4.1.4.1 of the general rules stipulates that if the food label or food instructions specifically emphasize that one or more valuable and characteristic ingredients or components are added or contained, the amount of the emphasized ingredients or components added or the content in the finished product should be indicated.

article 4.1.4.2 of the general rule stipulates that if the food label specifically emphasizes that the content of one or more ingredients or components is low or absent, the content of the emphasized ingredients or components in the finished product should be declared.

in addition, article 6 of the "interpretation of the supreme people's court on several issues concerning the application of law in handling food and drug punitive damages dispute cases" stipulates that if a purchaser requests a producer or operator to pay punitive damages on the grounds that the food label or instructions do not meet food safety standards, and the producer or operator defends on the grounds that the defects in the food label or instructions do not affect food safety and will not mislead consumers, the people's court will not support the defense of the producer or operator if any of the following circumstances exists: failure to indicate matters that must be indicated according to food safety standards, except for the circumstances specified in article 8 of this interpretation.

based on this, wang hai believes that the "meicheng black truffle lava custard mooncake" endorsed by xiao yang ge zeng zhiwei does not meet the food safety standards and should be given a "tenfold refund" to consumers in accordance with article 148 of the food safety law.

for consumers who have purchased this mooncake, wang hai recommends contacting the local 12345 or 12315 to complain, or reporting through the wechat 12315 platform or 12315 app. you can also seek compensation from "crazy little brother yang" or sue him directly.

>>>lawyer's interpretation

suspected of violating the advertising law, serious circumstances may lead to the revocation of business license

during this year's mid-autumn festival, the three sheep company, where the top anchor "crazy little yang ge" works, was named and investigated by the municipal supervision bureau for being deeply involved in the "hong kong meicheng mooncakes". on september 18, zhou zhaocheng, a well-known lawyer from beijing anjian law firm, was interviewed and interpreted the legal issues involved.

focus 1: suspected violation of the consumer rights protection law

according to article 20 of the consumer protection law, business operators should provide truthful and comprehensive product information. in the live broadcast, the three sheep company repeatedly claimed that the mooncakes were "authentic hong kong products" and "hong kong brands", and also displayed the origin as hong kong, china, but the actual production place was guangzhou. this false statement of the product's origin violated consumers' right to know and constituted false advertising.

if there are quality problems with mooncakes, consumers can claim for return, exchange or repair according to article 23. if they are found to be fraudulent, they can also ask for "triple compensation" (return and compensation of three times the purchase amount, or at least 500 yuan).

focus 2: suspected violation of the advertising law

article 28 of the advertising law stipulates that advertisements shall not contain false or misleading content, and advertisers shall be responsible for the authenticity of the content. the three sheep company claimed that the mooncakes were "authentic hong kong" and "famous brands", but the actual origin did not match, which misled consumers about the source; it also exaggerated the quality of the mooncakes, saying that "each one is made by a michelin master" without any certification basis, and there were cases of blurring product attributes and not fully disclosing information, all of which may constitute false advertising.

screenshot of the "little yang brother" live webpage

"the three sheep company is currently facing the risk of being heavily fined for suspected violations such as misleading consumers, including the serious consequence of the possible revocation of its business license." zhou zhaocheng made it clear that according to article 55 of the advertising law, operators who publish false advertisements may face a fine of three times the advertising costs or a maximum fine of 2 million yuan. in serious cases, the business license may be revoked. the three sheep company may face high fines and administrative penalties.

focus 3: suspected violation of the anti-unfair competition law

article 8 of the anti-unfair competition law stipulates that operators shall not engage in false advertising to mislead consumers or damage the rights and interests of other operators. if the three sheep company encroaches on market share through false advertising and exaggerating its advantages, it may violate the regulations and face not only administrative penalties but also civil liability for compensation to the injured competitors.

focus 4: responsibility in the field of food safety

zhou zhaocheng believes that as a food operator, three sheep company must comply with the food safety law. if mooncakes have food safety risks or do not meet standards, consumers can demand compensation of 10 times the price of the goods or 3 times the loss in accordance with article 148 of the food safety law, and the operator cannot use other compensation as a substitute.

zhou zhaocheng reminded: "this incident once again sounded the alarm for operators! at a time when live streaming is popular, we cannot ignore the legal bottom line in pursuit of sales. consumers should also be careful when shopping and choose formal channels. the intervention of the market supervision department is a powerful maintenance of a fair trading environment. we hope that it can be handled in accordance with the law and regulations, so that violators will bear their due responsibilities."

huashang daily news reporter li hua, editor li zhi