Beijing, March 3 rd (Xie Yiguan) During the epidemic prevention, consumers set off a wave of "home economy" at home. In this context, online games have become the entertainment choice of many consumers, and the consumption disputes of some paid online games have gradually become prominent.

　　The actual effect of the game is inconsistent with the propaganda.

　　According to the introduction of China Consumers Association, some online game operators promote the selling points of game products, such as characters, props and their functions, special effects, etc., through copywriting, videos and other forms, but their actual effects in the game do not match the promotion.

　　The second paragraph of Article 23 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests stipulates that "if an operator indicates the quality of goods or services by advertisements, product descriptions, physical samples or other means, it shall ensure that the actual quality of the goods or services it provides is consistent with the indicated quality."

　　According to China Consumers Association, online game operators use copywriting, videos and other publicity methods to display game characters, props, their functions and special effects in an intuitive and detailed way, and the explanations and displays should be consistent with the actual situation of consumers buying game products.

　　"Online game operators should be honest and trustworthy, refuse false propaganda, and ensure that the actual effect of game products is consistent with propaganda." China Consumers Association reminds that the special circumstances that may occur should be explained realistically and brought to the attention of consumers in a significant way, and no false propaganda or misleading of consumers is allowed.

　　Operators are exempted by unfair regulations.

　　Some online game operators have posted a statement that "the final effect is subject to the in-game video of online game products", and they are also suspected of using unfair regulations to infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.

　　The second paragraph of Article 26 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests stipulates that "business operators shall not make unfair and unreasonable provisions to consumers, such as excluding or restricting consumer rights, reducing or exempting business operators’ responsibilities, and aggravating consumer responsibilities, by means of format clauses, notices, statements, shop notices, etc., and shall not use format clauses and technical means to force transactions."

　　In addition, Article 17 of the E-commerce Law stipulates that "e-commerce operators should disclose information on goods or services in a comprehensive, true, accurate and timely manner to protect consumers’ right to know and choose." Article 49 stipulates that "if the information of goods or services released by e-commerce operators meets the conditions of offer, the user selects the goods or services and submits the order successfully, and the contract is established."

　　China Consumers Association believes that when consumers see the specific instructions such as copywriting and videos of game products and buy related game products, the two parties have formed a consumption contract relationship, and the operators should perform their obligations according to the agreement, and they can’t rely on the statement that "the final effect is subject to the game", which makes the agreement between the two parties in an uncertain state, and even excuses themselves for violating the agreement. Unfair and unreasonable provisions that exclude or restrict consumers’ rights and reduce or exempt operators’ responsibilities should be corrected as soon as possible, and consumer disputes should be properly resolved.

　　Unauthorized changes to products purchased by consumers in the name of upgrading, etc.

　　Some consumers report that online game operators have changed the sold characters, game props, their functions and special effects without their consent in the name of optimization and upgrade of game products.

　　Article 9 of the Consumer Protection Law stipulates that "consumers have the right to choose their own goods or services. Consumers have the right to … … Choose the variety of goods or service methods independently, and decide whether to buy or not to buy any kind of goods, accept or not to accept any service. " Article 10 stipulates that "consumers have the right to fair trade. When purchasing goods or receiving services, consumers have the right to obtain fair trading conditions such as quality assurance, reasonable price and correct measurement, and have the right to refuse the compulsory trading behavior of operators. " Article 127 of the General Principles of Civil Law stipulates that "if the law has provisions on the protection of data and network virtual property, such provisions shall prevail."

　　China Consumers Association believes that online game characters, props and other products purchased by consumers have property attributes and are property rights recognized and protected by the general principles of civil law. Online game operators should not rely on their own advantages to change the actual functions and effects of products purchased by consumers without the consent of consumers in the name of upgrading and optimization.

　　In practice, some online game operators also require consumers to generalize authorization in unilateral format clauses in service agreements, and agree that the company can adjust, update or optimize any content or elements in the game (including but not limited to the characters, game equipment, artistic design, performance and related data settings of game props that consumers have purchased or are using), and will not pursue any legal responsibilities of the company.

　　China Consumers Association pointed out that this practice deprives consumers of their right to choose, fair trade and claim, and infringes on their legitimate rights and interests. Online game operators should respect the rights of consumers, and obtain the consent of consumers for the optimization and upgrade of paid products in the game, clearly inform the specific situation of the upgraded products and the differences between the old and the new, and provide consumers with different options whether to upgrade. It is strictly forbidden to change the products that consumers have purchased without the consent of consumers, or force consumers to accept the upgraded products.