The Supreme People's Court (SPC), China's top court, released ten typical cases relating to online consumption at a press conference held on March 15, which marks World Consumer Rights Day. He Xiaorong, vice-president of the SPC, attended the event.

According to He, courts nationwide concluded 99,000 cases of first instance involving online shopping contracts over the past five years, the number increased to 32,000 in 2022 from 12,000 in 2018.

The ten cases cover contract validity compromised by negative stipulations, consumers' personal information protection, minors' online spending, tourism-related online booking services, online "free orders" promotion, second-hand goods trading, online rentals, platform operator's liability, online food safety, and the validity of standard terms.

As He said, the release of the cases has special rule-setting and guiding significance for continuously strengthening the protection of the rights and interests of consumers, further clarifying the legal relationship in online transactions, guiding the regulated operation of e-commerce entities, and promoting the sustainable and healthy development of the digital economy. 

Chinese lawyer & Beijing lawyer :ZHANG XUEHUA