People’s Daily Online, Beijing, December 5 th Today, the Ministry of Culture issued the Notice of the Ministry of Culture on Standardizing Online Game Operation and Strengthening Post-event Supervision. The notice clarified the scope of online game operation, standardized the distribution service of virtual props for online games, and clearly stated that it is necessary to strengthen the protection of online game users’ rights and interests, strengthen post-event supervision of online game operation, and seriously investigate and deal with illegal and illegal operations.

　　The notice requires that online game operators should not provide users with the service of exchanging virtual props for legal tender, and if they provide users with virtual props for small physical objects, the content and value of the physical objects should comply with the provisions of relevant national laws and regulations.

　　The full text of the notice is as follows:

　　Notice of the Ministry of Culture on Standardizing Online Game Operation and Strengthening Post-event Supervision

　　Cultural departments (bureaus) of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, Cultural Radio and Television Bureau of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and Cultural Market (Comprehensive) Administrative Law Enforcement Corps of Xizang Autonomous Region, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing:

　　In recent years, China’s online game industry has developed rapidly, which has played an active role in promoting the development of online culture market, enriching people’s cultural and entertainment activities, expanding and guiding cultural consumption. However, problems such as unclear operational responsibility, disguised induced consumption, and ineffective protection of users’ rights and interests have become increasingly prominent. In order to further standardize the online game market order, protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and enterprises, and promote the healthy and orderly development of the online game industry, relevant matters are hereby notified as follows according to the Measures for the Administration of Internet Information Services, the Interim Provisions on the Administration of Internet Culture, the Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Games and other laws and regulations:

　　First, clear the scope of operation of online games

　　(1) Online game operation refers to the behavior that online game operators provide online game products and services to the public by opening online game user registration or providing online game downloads, and obtain benefits by charging online game users or by means of e-commerce, advertising and sponsorship.

　　(2) The online game technology test conducted by online game operators through opening user registration, opening online game charging system and providing client software that can directly register and log in to the server belongs to online game operation.

　　(3) Online game operators provide services such as user system, charging system, program download, publicity and promotion for online game products of other operators, and participate in the revenue sharing of online game operations, which is a joint operation and should bear corresponding responsibilities.

　　Two, standardize the online game virtual props distribution service

　　(4) Virtual props issued by online game operators, which are directly purchased by users with legal tender, purchased with online game virtual currency or obtained according to a certain exchange ratio, and have the function of directly exchanging other virtual props or value-added services in the game, shall be managed in accordance with the relevant provisions on online game virtual currency.

　　(5) When an online game operation enterprise changes the online game version, increases the types of virtual props, adjusts the functions and service life of the virtual props, and holds temporary activities, it shall promptly publicize the name, functions, pricing, exchange ratio, expiration date and corresponding information such as gift, transfer or transaction methods of the virtual props involved on the official homepage of the game or in a prominent position in the game.

　　(6) If an online game operation enterprise provides virtual props and value-added services by random selection, it shall not require users to participate by directly investing in legal tender or online game virtual currency. Online game operators shall promptly publicize the names, performance, content, quantity and extraction or synthesis probability of all virtual props and value-added services that may be extracted or synthesized on the official website or random extraction page of the game. The randomly selected relevant information of publicity shall be true and effective.

　　(7) The online game operation enterprise shall publish the random selection results of participating users on the official website of the game or in a prominent position in the game, and keep relevant records for the relevant departments to inquire, and the record keeping time shall not be less than 90 days. When publishing the results of random sampling, certain measures should be taken to protect the privacy of users.

　　(8) When online game operators provide virtual props and value-added services in a random way, they should also provide users with other ways to obtain virtual props and value-added services with the same performance, such as exchanging other virtual props, directly purchasing online games with virtual currency, etc.

　　(9) An online game operation enterprise shall not provide users with the service of exchanging online game virtual currency for legal tender or physical objects, except when the online game operation enterprise stops providing online game products and services and returns the unused virtual currency to users in legal tender or other ways accepted by users.

　　(10) Online game operators shall not provide users with the service of exchanging virtual props for legal tender, and if they provide users with virtual props for small physical objects, the content and value of the physical objects shall comply with the provisions of relevant national laws and regulations.

　　Third, strengthen the protection of online game users’ rights and interests

　　(eleven) online game operators should require online game users to use valid identity documents for real-name registration, and save the user registration information; It is not allowed to provide in-game recharge or consumption services for online game users who log in using tourist mode.

　　(12) An online game operation enterprise shall limit the amount of online game users’ single recharge in a single game, and send information that requires users to confirm when users recharge or consume. The confirmation information shall include the amount of legal tender or virtual currency for recharge or consumption, the name of the obtained virtual props or value-added services, and prompts such as moderate entertainment and rational consumption. Online game operators shall keep records of users’ recharge and consumption for not less than 180 days.

　　(thirteen) online game operators should strictly implement the relevant provisions of the "online game minors’ parental care project". It is advocated that online game business units should, on the basis of implementing the "online game parental care project for minors", set the consumption limit of underage users, limit the game time of underage users, and take technical measures to shield scenes and functions unsuitable for underage users.

　　(fourteen) online game operators should indicate the contact information of user rights protection in a prominent position in the game. When the legitimate rights and interests of online game users are infringed or there is a dispute with online game users, online game business units may require online game users to show their valid personal identity documents consistent with their registered identity information. If the audit is true, it shall assist online game users in obtaining evidence. The online game business unit has the responsibility to provide evidence to the registered users whose real names have been verified.

　　(fifteen) online game operators should take effective measures to protect users’ personal information, prevent users’ personal information from being leaked or damaged, and shall not provide users’ information to third-party enterprises or individuals in any way without authorization.

　　Fourth, strengthen post-event supervision in online game operation.

　　(sixteen) local cultural administrative departments and cultural market comprehensive law enforcement agencies should make full use of the network cultural market law enforcement cooperation mechanism, and fully implement the "double random and open" supervision of the online game market. It is necessary to continuously improve the level of random inspection of online games. For online game business units with more complaints and reports, it is necessary to increase the frequency of random inspection and daily inspection and focus on supervision. It is necessary to announce the investigation results to the public in a timely manner.

　　(17) Local cultural administrative departments and cultural market comprehensive law enforcement agencies should strengthen the credit supervision of online game market according to law, blacklist illegal online game business units or warning lists according to the principle of "whoever punishes them", and implement joint punishment with relevant departments to strengthen the credit constraint on illegal online game business units and relevant responsible persons.

　　(eighteen) cultural administrative departments at all levels and cultural market comprehensive law enforcement agencies should strengthen the guidance, service and training of online game business units within their respective jurisdictions. Provincial cultural administrative departments should organize and guide enterprises to carry out training in policies, regulations and business norms, regularly check the implementation of relevant systems such as self-examination of enterprise content and operational norms, and provide administrative guidance for online game business units in a timely manner.

　　Five, seriously investigate and deal with illegal operations.

　　(19) If an online game operation enterprise engages in the activities specified in Items (1), (2) and (3) of this Notice, and operates an online game without obtaining the approval number or the filing number within the time limit, it shall be investigated and dealt with by the cultural administrative department at or above the county level or the comprehensive law enforcement agency of the cultural market in accordance with Articles 30 and 34 of the Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Games; Those who provide online game downloads, or obtain benefits by means of e-commerce, advertising, sponsorship, etc., shall be investigated and punished in accordance with Articles 27 and 28 of the Interim Provisions on the Administration of Internet Culture.

　　(20) Online game operators who engage in online game virtual currency distribution services as specified in Item (4) of this Notice shall abide by the relevant provisions of Articles 6, 18, 19 and 22 of the Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Games, and those who violate the relevant provisions shall be investigated and punished by the cultural administrative department at or above the county level or the comprehensive law enforcement agency of the cultural market in accordance with the Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Games.

　　(21) If an online game operation enterprise violates the relevant provisions of Items (5), (6), (7) and (8) of this Notice, it shall be investigated and dealt with by the cultural administrative department at or above the county level or the comprehensive law enforcement agency of the cultural market in accordance with Article 31 of the Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Games.

　　(twenty-two) online game operators who violate the relevant provisions of Item (9) of this notice shall be investigated and dealt with by the cultural administrative department at or above the county level or the comprehensive law enforcement agency of the cultural market in accordance with Article 32 of the Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Games.

　　(twenty-three) online game operators who violate the relevant provisions of Item (10) of this notice shall be investigated and dealt with by the cultural administrative department at or above the county level or the comprehensive law enforcement agency of the cultural market in accordance with Article 30 of the Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Games.

　　(twenty-four) online game operators in violation of the relevant provisions of item (eleven) of this notice, shall be investigated and dealt with by the cultural administrative department at or above the county level or the comprehensive law enforcement agencies of the cultural market in accordance with Article 34 of the Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Games.

　　(twenty-five) online game operators who violate the relevant provisions of Item (13) of this notice shall be investigated and dealt with by the cultural administrative department at or above the county level or the comprehensive law enforcement agency of the cultural market in accordance with Article 31 of the Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Games.

　　(26) If an online game business unit violates the relevant provisions of Items (12) and (14) of this Notice, it shall be investigated and dealt with by the cultural administrative department at or above the county level or the comprehensive law enforcement agency of the cultural market in accordance with Article 35 of the Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Games.

　　This notice shall come into force as of May 1, 2017.

　　I hereby inform you.

　　Cctv newsSince the beginning of this year, market supervision departments at all levels have taken the protection of people’s livelihood as the guide, focused on outstanding issues that have been strongly reflected by the masses and are of concern to the society, continued to carry out the "Iron Fist" action in depth, and investigated and handled a number of illegal cases closely related to the interests of the masses. It is one of the key contents of the "Iron Fist" action to severely crack down on false propaganda and illegal acts such as "single-brush speculation" and fictitious transactions, and safeguard the interests of consumers. Now some typical cases are announced as follows:

　　1. Beijing Miyun District Market Supervision Bureau investigated and dealt with the false propaganda case of Beijing Yiweile Skin Care Products Co., Ltd.

　　On August 14th, 2023, Beijing Miyun District Market Supervision Bureau imposed an administrative penalty on the false propaganda behavior of Beijing Youweile Skin Care Products Co., Ltd. and fined 200,000 yuan.

　　On May 8, 2023, the Miyun District Market Supervision Bureau received a report that when recommending and selling cosmetics in the live broadcast room of a platform "HELIUS Helius official flagship store", it was suspected that there was a false or misleading commercial propaganda behavior on the product function. After investigation, from August 2022 to May 18, 2023, when Beijing Yiweile Skin Care Products Co., Ltd. sold its cosmetics in the above-mentioned live broadcast room, the words "specialized in anti-aging" were used in the live broadcast background. In addition, from November 15, 2022 to May 18, 2023, the parties declared "specialized in anti-aging" on the main page of HELIUS Cosmetics Flagship Store and the display background of 23 products. After verification, all the above cosmetics have no anti-aging function. The behavior of the party concerned violated the first paragraph of Article 8 of People’s Republic of China (PRC) Anti-Unfair Competition Law, and Miyun District Market Supervision Bureau imposed administrative punishment on the party concerned according to law.

　　With the development of webcasting format, problems such as false propaganda of live broadcast goods occur from time to time. The investigation and handling of the case reflects the determination and actions of the market supervision department to standardize the competition order in the online market, safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and enhance consumer confidence.

　　Second, the Market Supervision Bureau of Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province investigated and dealt with the false propaganda case of "single speculation" in Jiangyin Zhutang Dejin Garment Factory.

　　On June 1, 2023, the Market Supervision Bureau of Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province imposed an administrative penalty on the false propaganda behavior of "single speculation" of Zhuyang Dejin Garment Factory in Jiangyin City, and imposed a fine of 300,000 yuan.

　　According to the clues of relevant cases, Wuxi Municipal Market Supervision Bureau found that Jiangyin Zhutang Dejin Garment Factory was suspected of false propaganda and illegal activities. After investigation, the parties concerned are engaged in the production of clothes and other products, and sell the above products on a wholesale platform. In order to improve the search ranking of products on the platform website, in July 2021, the parties opened the backstage operation authority to Zhu, the "shop assistant" of the platform, and advanced some money in advance for Zhu to organize "brushing hands" and "brushing bills". Zhu sent the product link to the "Brush Hand" through the backstage of the parties, and the "Brush Hand" placed an order on the platform through the product link and paid the price, but according to the agreement, the parties did not deliver the goods. The "Brush Hand" confirms the receipt of the goods without receiving them. After receiving the payment, the parties will transfer the payment to Zhu, and Zhu will pay the received payment and the service fee of "brushing the bill" to the "Brush Hand", and the relevant funds will be recycled in the above way. By November 30, 2022, the parties had made a total of 1,303 transactions on the platform, with a total sales volume of 9,590,100 yuan, including 354 false transactions and a false transaction amount of 8,587,300 yuan. The behavior of the party concerned violated the first paragraph of Article 8 of People’s Republic of China (PRC) Anti-Unfair Competition Law, and Wuxi Municipal Market Supervision Bureau imposed administrative punishment on the party concerned according to law.

　　At present, criminals have expanded the "single-letter speculation" from the retail field to the wholesale field. The investigation and handling of this case has effectively dealt a blow to the illegal behavior of "single-sheet speculation" in the field of commodity wholesale, warning online transaction operators to consciously safeguard the online credit evaluation system, adhere to the principle of good faith, resolutely resist unfair competition and jointly create a good online business environment.

　　3. The Market Supervision Bureau of huqiu district, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province investigated and dealt with the false propaganda case of Jiangsu Gupin Network Technology Co., Ltd.

　　On July 4, 2023, huqiu district Market Supervision Bureau of Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province imposed an administrative penalty on Jiangsu Gupin Network Technology Co., Ltd. for its false propaganda behavior of "swiping a single letter" and fined it 300,000 yuan.

　　On April 20, 2023, huqiu district Municipal Market Supervision Bureau conducted an on-site inspection on Jiangsu Gupin Network Technology Co., Ltd. according to the report clues, and extracted materials such as the "billing" records of the parties. After investigation, the client is an e-commerce operation company, which mainly provides online shop decoration, operation and promotion services for operators in the e-commerce platform. In order to help the online stores it operates to increase traffic and transaction volume, the parties have helped online store operators to "swipe their letters" on various e-commerce platforms and charge fees since 2022. Up to the time of the incident, a total of 173,558 "single bills" and 195,880 "browsing bills" were made, involving a total amount of 3,612,700 yuan. The behavior of the party concerned violated the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 8 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of People’s Republic of China (PRC), and the huqiu district Municipal Market Supervision Bureau imposed administrative punishment on the party concerned according to law.

　　In the process of investigating this case, law enforcement officers locked the principal department heads of the parties through on-site batch control, consulted the computer records of relevant personnel, and finally obtained relevant evidence to crack down on illegal acts according to law. Market supervision departments resolutely investigate and deal with all kinds of unfair competition violations that harm the vital interests of the people and hinder fair competition in the market, and constantly optimize the market environment.

　　Fourth, Gongshu District Market Supervision Bureau of Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province investigated and dealt with the false propaganda case of Hangzhou Jinwotai Software Development Co., Ltd.

　　On April 14th, 2023, Gongshu District Market Supervision Bureau of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province imposed an administrative penalty on the false propaganda behavior of Hangzhou Jinwotai Software Development Co., Ltd. according to law, and imposed a fine of 250,000 yuan.

　　On October 18, 2022, Gongshu District Market Supervision Bureau received a report, reflecting that Hangzhou Jinwotai Software Development Co., Ltd. paid for "brushing the bill" and "brushing praise" for the take-away platform merchants through false transactions. After investigation, in May 2022, the parties developed the "Xiao * preferred" App, established the WeChat group of App users, issued the tasks of "brushing the bill" and "brushing the praise", and listed the five-star praise requirements and preferential measures for full cash back; Organize users to collect meal coupons, go to the merchants corresponding to the online ordering platform to place orders, and then evaluate them according to the requirements of five-star praise, and provide cash back discounts to eligible members. The parties charged 213 merchants a favorable service fee according to the amount ranging from 2 yuan to 3 yuan, and made an illegal profit of 7,118 yuan. The behavior of the party concerned violated the provisions of Paragraph 2 of Article 8 of People’s Republic of China (PRC) Anti-Unfair Competition Law, and Gongshu District Market Supervision Bureau imposed administrative punishment on the party concerned according to law.

　　"Sweeping a single letter" undermines the normal market competition order. The investigation and handling of the case has effectively shocked the same type of illegal personnel in the industry, returned integrity to the market, and further promoted the standardized and healthy development of e-commerce platforms.

　　Five, Yuhang District Market Supervision Bureau of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province investigated and dealt with the false propaganda case of Hangzhou Dong Tian Technology Co., Ltd.

　　On March 6, 2023, Yuhang District Market Supervision Bureau of Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province imposed an administrative penalty on Hangzhou Dong Tian Technology Co., Ltd. for its false propaganda behavior of "brushing a single letter" and fined it 500,000 yuan.

　　On January 9, 2023, Yuhang District Market Supervision Bureau filed an investigation into the alleged illegal behavior of "swiping a single letter" of Hangzhou Dong Tian Technology Co., Ltd. according to the report. After investigation, the parties have opened 9 online stores on the e-commerce platform to engage in the sales of industrial computers. Since July 30, 2019, in order to improve the sales volume of online stores and ranking in similar online stores on the e-commerce platform, the parties have organized employees and their relatives and friends to make up the trading volume of online stores by sending empty packages or materials, and paid commissions to the "swipe" personnel. As of the time of the incident, the parties had a total of 12,573 fictitious transactions, paid a commission of 278,800 yuan, and the fictitious transaction amount was more than 69 million yuan. The behavior of the parties violated the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 8 of People’s Republic of China (PRC) Anti-Unfair Competition Law, and Yuhang District Market Supervision Bureau imposed administrative punishment on the parties according to law.

　　In this case, the parties organized employees, employees’ relatives and friends and other acquaintances to "swipe the bill" in the form of "a small number of times" for many years, and the behavior was more subtle and complicated. Market supervision departments dig deep into the clues of cases, and always maintain a high-pressure situation to crack down on the illegal behavior of "brushing the letter" and maintain the order of the online trading market in view of the new means and mode of "brushing the letter".

　　Six, Qianjiang City Market Supervision Bureau of Hubei Province investigated and dealt with the false propaganda case of Jianghe Medical Materials Co., Ltd.

　　On June 8, 2023, Qianjiang City Market Supervision Bureau of Hubei Province imposed an administrative penalty on Jianghe Medical Materials Co., Ltd. for "brushing the letter" and fined 60,000 yuan.

　　On November 3, 2022, Qianjiang Municipal Market Supervision Bureau conducted law enforcement inspection on Jianghe Medical Materials Co., Ltd. according to reports from the masses. After investigation, from January to November, 2021, in order to improve the sales performance of new products in online stores, the parties asked the employees and their families to place orders, and then refunded the fees and paid the commission, that is, "brushing the bill". The parties also induced customers to praise in the way of cash-filled red envelopes, that is, "make up the bill". The parties made 40 fictitious transactions in the form of "swiping the bill", with a total amount of 2,606.81 yuan and a commission of 157.7 yuan; 147 fictional praise orders were made in the form of "supplementary orders", with a total amount of 13,342.3 yuan and a "commission" of 1,656.6 yuan. The behavior of the party concerned violated the first paragraph of Article 8 of People’s Republic of China (PRC) Anti-Unfair Competition Law, and Qianjiang Municipal Market Supervision Bureau imposed administrative punishment on the party concerned according to law.

　　The behavior of "brushing the bill" and "filling the bill" interferes with consumers’ cognition of the real sales situation of goods and infringes on consumers’ legitimate rights and interests by fictional sales quantity and user praise. The investigation of this case is conducive to better protecting the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and maintaining a good market competition environment.

　　7. Changsha Municipal Market Supervision Bureau of Hunan Province investigated and dealt with the false propaganda case of Hunan Shanlian Zheying Network Technology Co., Ltd.

　　On April 7, 2023, Changsha Municipal Market Supervision Bureau of Hunan Province imposed an administrative penalty on the false propaganda behavior of Hunan Shanlian Zheying Network Technology Co., Ltd. according to law, and fined 200,000 yuan.

　　The Changsha Municipal Market Supervision Comprehensive Administrative Law Enforcement Detachment received a clue from the High-tech Branch of Changsha Public Security Bureau, reflecting that the "Liangbao" platform used micro-signals to "brush popularity" and "brush comments" in batches. After investigation, in March, 2022, Hunan Shanlian Zheying Network Technology Co., Ltd. set up a "measuring treasure" service platform and developed a built-in program, which realized "automatic order taking, automatic on-demand, automatic praise and automatic comment" by logging in multiple micro-signals, and provided a batch of services such as "brushing likes", "brushing comments" and "brushing views" for users of WeChat platform for free, so as to improve their popularity and popularity. The behavior of the parties violated the provisions of Paragraph 2 of Article 8 and Item 4 of Paragraph 2 of Article 12 of People’s Republic of China (PRC) Anti-Unfair Competition Law, and Changsha Municipal Market Supervision Bureau imposed administrative punishment on the parties according to law.

　　The real sales volume and objective evaluation of products or services are the key factors for consumers to choose products or services. In this case, the behavior of "brushing praise" and "brushing praise" not only destroyed the authenticity of platform data, but also deceived and misled consumers, infringed on the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, and seriously undermined the market order of fair competition, which must be severely cracked down.

　　Eight, Dazhou City Market Supervision Bureau of Sichuan Province investigated and dealt with the false propaganda case of Dazhou Branch of Chengdu Zongheng Hanglv Business Information Consulting Co., Ltd.

　　On March 29th, 2023, the Market Supervision Bureau of Dazhou City, Sichuan Province imposed an administrative penalty on the false propaganda of Dazhou Branch of Chengdu Zongheng Hanglv Business Information Consulting Co., Ltd., and imposed a fine of 200,000 yuan.

　　On March 16th, 2023, when Dazhou Market Supervision Bureau cooperated with Dazhou Transportation Bureau to investigate an online public opinion, it was found that Dazhou Branch of Chengdu Zongheng Hanglv Business Information Consulting Co., Ltd. was suspected of false propaganda when promoting membership cards. After investigation, in the process of promoting the membership card, the salesperson dressing the (similar to the airport staff) did not actively identify himself, misleading consumers into thinking that he was an airport staff; Introduce the membership card selectively and one-sidedly, which makes consumers misunderstand the service scope and deduction method. Claimed that "30 yuan will be deducted for a single flight according to the route — 200 yuan does not wait "and the agreement stipulates that" the amount of each discount is 2% of the ticket price & mdash; 20% "is inconsistent, and the actual deduction amount is lower than the lower limit 30 yuan/time. From July 14, 2022 to March 19, 2023, the parties sold a total of 619 membership cards at a sales price of 1680 yuan/piece. The behavior of the party concerned violated the first paragraph of Article 8 of People’s Republic of China (PRC) Anti-Unfair Competition Law, and Dazhou Municipal Market Supervision Bureau imposed administrative punishment on the party concerned according to law.

　　In the process of investigating this case, the market supervision department "from point to point", combined with relevant departments to sort out relevant enterprises, urged relevant industries to conduct self-examination and self-correction, shocked illegal operators, and strived to create a good market consumption environment.