Is it an advertisement to ＂explore shops by talented people＂ or ＂plant grass in online celebrity＂？ The new rules can’t be implemented by bloggers alone.
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"Planting grass" (an online buzzword, which refers to promoting a good product to entice people to buy it) has become a new consumption habit, while false "planting grass" and incidents that harm consumers’ rights and interests occur from time to time. Recently, the "Measures for the Administration of Internet Advertising" was officially implemented, and "planting grass" was included in advertising supervision. However, there are still difficulties in the implementation of law enforcement supervision. Lawyers suggested that the new regulations should not be implemented only by bloggers consciously, and the platform should also bear the responsibility of logo supervision and content review.
Nowadays, it is no longer unusual for internet celebrities, shopkeepers and Weibo V to "plant grass" on the online platform. Some people rely on high popularity to "advertise" in the name of sharing daily life and exploring shops. Due to the profit-driven and mixed businesses, false "planting grass" and damage to consumers’ rights and interests have occurred from time to time.
How to regulate the false "planting grass" mixed with the strong rise of "planting grass" economy?
On May 1st, the new version of "Internet Advertising Management Measures" was officially implemented. In view of a large number of short videos, evaluation notes, etc. on major social media platforms, the new regulations refine the advertising supervision modes such as "soft-text advertisements" and videos with links, and stipulate that Internet advertisements should be identifiable, so that consumers can identify them as advertisements. Insiders pointed out that "planting grass" is included in advertising supervision, but there are still difficulties in the implementation level.
"Planting Grass" into a New Consumption Habit of Generation Z
Sun Yu, a post-90 s girl, is a loyal fan of a social networking platform. She is keen to browse the daily sharing of various bloggers, and often places orders when she encounters small objects that are moving.
"The promotional copy and beautiful photos on the page are hard not to be exciting." Sun Yu told reporters that for this kind of "planting grass" marketing method, she thinks that "it is nothing new, and everyone has acquiesced, used to it and even relied on it".
"Planting Grass" has expanded from the initial beauty forum to major online social platforms, and the variety of products has gradually expanded to food, daily use and other fields. Compared with the traditional "advertising", this form of "pro-testing" has more affinity and authenticity and is loved by more and more young people.
In the "Grass Generation" Fashion Consumption Report of "Post-95" released by a third-party data research organization, the post-95 generation is called the backbone of "being planted with grass". In May 2021, the research report of CITIC Securities showed that 64.3% of Generation Z (the generation born between 1995 and 2009) was influenced by the recommendation of "planting grass" when shopping. The huge audience and high acceptance made "planting grass" quickly become the mainstream of marketing model.
After logging into the social networking platform, the reporter noticed that there are endless ways of "planting grass", some of which are directly linked, some of which are hidden in videos, pictures and texts in the form of trademarks, and some of which seem to be consumption evaluation but are actually marketing promotion. Under these "planting grass" pages, fans interact frequently and the displayed transaction volume is amazing.
Network "planting grass" is diversified and hidden.
Liu Yu (a pseudonym), a beauty blogger on a platform, told reporters that there are two kinds of "planting grass" advertisements that she undertakes. One is through the official platform, which requires a 10% handling fee, and the other is private trading with merchants, but if it is found, it is easy to limit the flow and deduct points. He said frankly: "The platform does not allow sensitive words such as product efficacy to appear in bloggers’ soft articles, but it is still lacking in the control and restraint of merchants."
"Merchants require bloggers to describe their products by sharing experiences, ‘ Advertising ’ The trace is very small, and even if the consumer’s use effect is not good, it is difficult to hold the responsibility. " Liu Yu said.
A netizen was "planted grass" in the WeChat circle of friends, and then found "stepping on the pit". Sharing through the WeChat circle of friends of "acquaintances", the netizen bought a collagen powder, and found that its composition did not match the description after arrival. "Many merchants turn their attention to resource people and share them through their daily WeChat circle of friends to achieve the purpose of implicitly promoting goods, and the benefits are very impressive." Liu Yu revealed.
According to the consulting report of Ai Media, 72.4% of consumers said that they were affected by false "planting grass". In recent years, cases of false "planting grass" and online marketing punishment are common. Does the network "planting grass" belong to "advertising"? Do publishers or platforms need to bear corresponding legal responsibilities?
Liu Kunbao, a lawyer of Shandong Yuanheng Law Firm, said that according to the Advertising Law, commercial activities in which commodity operators or service providers directly or indirectly promote commodities or services through the media, no matter what form they appear, are advertisements. If there are false propaganda or misleading contents, they also need to bear corresponding legal responsibilities, and consumers can safeguard their legitimate rights and interests through local market supervision departments and courts.
"At present, the network ‘ Planting grass ’ It is characterized by diversification and concealment, and it is difficult to accurately judge whether it has the nature of advertising by relying on hard laws and regulations, which also brings certain difficulties to law enforcement agencies. " Liu Kunbao said.
The platform should strengthen the responsibility of content audit.
The Administrative Measures for Internet Advertising, which came into effect on May 1st this year, clearly defined "planting grass" and "advertising". Among them, Article 9 clearly stipulates that if a commodity or service is promoted through knowledge introduction, experience sharing, consumption evaluation, etc., and a shopping link is attached, the advertisement publisher shall clearly indicate "advertisement".
In the view of chenchen, director of Baidu Law Research Center, if the "advertising" logo is required, it may bring great management pressure. Because advertising and information are often difficult to distinguish, it is difficult to control the scale. Therefore, Article 9 of the new regulation is strictly limited to the most intuitive way of "planting grass" advertising, which is different from the consumption experience and life experience of ordinary consumers, so it can be more authentic and recognizable and avoid cheating consumers.
How to label "advertisement"? After the implementation of the new regulations, logging in to some popular online social platforms, the reporter found that there are still many "planting grass" content with additional shopping links that have not yet marked "advertising". Some bloggers will mark "sponsorship" or "cooperation" in their tweets as an alternative vague expression of "advertising".
In this regard, Liu Kunbao said that if the platform and bloggers do not comply with relevant regulations, they not only need to face administrative penalties from administrative organs, but also may bear legal responsibilities such as civil liability and criminal liability. "The Advertising Law and the Measures for the Administration of Internet Advertising and other relevant regulations clarify the possible legal consequences of illegal acts. If consumers find illegal acts or their rights and interests are infringed, they should be brave enough to complain and report to relevant departments." He said.
The reporter noticed that at the end of April this year, before the implementation of the new regulations, the WeChat public platform operation center issued a reminder: WeChat official account operators need to strictly review the published content, promote goods or services through various forms, and attach shopping links and other purchase methods, and should clearly mark the word "advertising". At the beginning of May, an online social platform launched a special campaign to "falsely plant grass", and targeted the illegal activities such as false shop visits and writing on behalf of others, and disposed of a number of brands and accounts suspected of illegal marketing.
"The new regulations can’t be realized by bloggers alone, and the platform should also bear the responsibility of logo supervision and content review." Liu Kunbao said.