Guangzhou Internet Court: Rapid Growth in Disputes Involving Live Streaming E-commerce Will Strengthen Coordinated Governance

Reporters learned from the Guangzhou Internet Court’s press conference held on March 13 that from 2018 to 2025, the court accepted a total of 2,604 cases involving live streaming e-commerce.
With industry development, the number of such cases has entered a rapid growth phase, reaching 806 cases in 2025, an 8.4-fold increase compared to 2020.
The case trial situation objectively reflects prominent issues in the current live streaming industry, such as intertwined business entities, blurred responsibilities of hosts, and irregular commercial promotion.
Regarding the goods involved in disputes, there is a highly concentrated trend.
Cases involving gold, jade, and gemstones account for about 37% of disputes related to live streaming e-commerce online shopping, becoming high-frequency dispute areas due to high value, strong professionalism, and limitations of live display.
In terms of case causes, infringement disputes account for over 70%, with a total of 1,954 cases involving intellectual property rights and online infringement disputes, mainly including behaviors such as stealing live clip segments and defaming reputations among hosts.
Ordinary consumers using legal means to defend their rights has become the norm, showing a “part-time” characteristic of rights protection.
Zhao Jianwen, Vice President of the Guangzhou Internet Court, stated that the next step will be to continuously improve the adjudication rules in the live streaming e-commerce field, strengthen coordination with market regulation and industry associations, promote the formation of a governance pattern involving multiple parties, and effectively safeguard consumers’ legitimate rights and interests as well as fair market competition.
(Xinhua News Agency)