Mainland China’s market regulator imposed new measures on Monday to prevent consumer disputes and illegal behaviors caused by the new sales model available through online live video streaming platforms.

In the Monday promulgation by the State Administration for Market Regulation, livestream channel hosts must keep the videos for at least three years and provide special sales terms and conditions to protect personal information. These measures were taken to prevent a particular platform from monopolizing the market and to protect consumers’ right to know, the regulator said.

The law also stipulates that online trading platforms must not require individual operators to “choose one of two.” This means that they are banned from using improper means to limit consumers’ choices, and also hindering others from engaging in business activities on online e-commerce platforms. These behaviors include removing products, restricting operations, blocking other e-stores and increasing service charges.

The booming digital platform economy in mainland China has seen further growth recently due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with people spending more time at home. This has led to the emergence of new e-commerce crimes, such as tax evasion and counterfeit items.

The live broadcast economy has become a “blind spot for financial and tax supervision,” said Ma Jin, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and suggested that measures be taken to monitor sales behavior on live video streaming platforms.

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