Selling products went off the rails, and the cost will keep increasing.

So-called Melbourne production facilities turned out to be an unremarkable auto repair shop. The “imported high-end” they touted was all domestic contract manufacturing… Recently, a health supplement brand called “YouSiYi,” claiming to be an “authentic Australian original import,” was exposed. After the incident gained momentum, several celebrity host streamers who had promoted the product through sales livestreams apologized one after another, drawing widespread social attention.

Health supplements are tied to the health of the public. Such deception and fraud not only seriously disrupt market order, infringe on consumers’ right to know, right to choose, and right to health and safety, but also drain the industry’s credibility. In addition, this incident serves as a warning bell for the livestream shopping and sales industry: if, when problems arise, people just shift blame, evade responsibility, and play with words—only selling products but not standing behind them—how long can this continue?

Breaking the superstition about “foreign labels” is an important step toward promoting rational consumption. For a long time, some imported goods, relying on early quality advantages, have formed a “better than domestic” mindset among certain consumers. This outdated way of thinking needs to be corrected. What is also crucial is that some merchants do not put effort into product quality; instead, they are keen on fabricating overseas origins, purchasing fake international awards, and hiring so-called experts to endorse them—wearing these “foreign-brand costumes” to harvest consumers. When such诚信 and market rules are so blatantly trampled, problems are bound to come sooner or later.

On the other hand, the frequent “ups and downs” of celebrity host streamers in livestreaming promotions reflects a lack of responsibility. The “Interim Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Livestream E-commerce,” effective from February 1 of this year, clearly stipulates that livestream marketing personnel must not make “false or misleading commercial promotions” about goods, and it also sets out corresponding responsibilities. Public figures naturally have social influence and a high level of public trust. When consumers choose to place orders in a livestream room, much of it comes from their recognition and trust in the hosts. Some host streamers and institutions providing livestream marketing services are lax in reviewing key information such as product certifications, whether the stated origin is genuine, product quality, and compliance. They may even be careless in checks or intentionally look the other way. This not only lets down public trust, but also becomes an “accomplice” for unscrupulous merchants seeking improper benefits, thereby crossing legal red lines. This definitely cannot be absolved by a simple claim of “not being aware” or “the contract has been terminated,” nor can it be written off with a single apology.

In recent years, livestream shopping has, to a certain extent, lowered consumers’ costs and time spent on shopping and energized new avenues for consumption. However, it has also exposed many chaotic practices, such as selling inferior goods as better, forging certifications, and shirking responsibilities in after-sales service. With every livestream promotion that goes wrong, many consumers’ rights and interests are harmed behind the scenes. Livestream shopping cannot only chase sales volume and traffic; it must also shoulder corresponding responsibility. If there are product quality problems, the issues must be acknowledged, solved, and responsibility must be taken—fulfilling the obligations regarding protection of consumers’ rights and interests—so that consumers can see it clearly with their eyes and remember it in their hearts through concrete actions.

To root out these problems and purify the online consumer environment, coordinated efforts across multiple parties and systematic governance are still needed. Relevant regulatory departments should strictly implement the “Interim Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Livestream E-commerce,” increase penalties for illegal acts such as false advertising and infringement and counterfeiting, and press down the main responsibilities of platforms and operators to effectively safeguard consumers’ lawful rights and interests. Operators should abandon short-sighted thinking that “traffic comes first,” adhere to the bottom lines of honest and compliant operations, and improve mechanisms for product selection review and quality control. E-commerce platforms should also earnestly perform their main responsibilities, eliminate perfunctory reviews and superficial due diligence on background checks, and build a solid safety barrier with full-process, strict standards. Livestream host streamers should also cherish public trust, strictly control the review of product selection, proactively fulfill their obligations and social responsibilities, and avoid endorsing problematic products.

In the era of online consumption, when sellers do things well and deliver results, word of mouth spreads quickly and widely. When they do things poorly and are still careless, negative reviews have nowhere to hide. In the future, the cost of deceiving and “bluffing” consumers will only keep getting higher. May every order placed behind it not let trust be betrayed, so that a fair, orderly, safe, and reassuring market environment can better benefit every consumer.

（People’s Daily Client）