Another year on March 15th, online consumer rights protection has once again become the focus. Looking back at the past year, new types of scams such as "AI counterfeit celebrity sales", "professional barrage workers" manipulating public opinion, and "big data murder" have replaced traditional counterfeit goods and become the "hardest hit areas" for complaints. I thought it was recommended by Teacher Li Zimeng at first, and I felt very reassured. ”Recalling the live shopping event in early 2025, Jiangsu consumer Zhang Qiang (pseudonym) still carries a hint of regret in his tone. On the other end of the screen, the "CCTV News Anchor" endorsed a "Deep Sea Polyene Fish Oil" that claimed to treat dizziness and numbness with its iconic friendly tone. Zhang Qiang decisively placed an order, but in the end, he only received an ordinary candy. It wasn't until a few months later when the first AI counterfeit celebrity false advertising case in the country was made public that he suddenly realized that he had encountered a complete "digital scam". Zhang Qiang's experience is not an isolated case. In August 2025, the Beijing Internet Court concluded a case of personality infringement involving AI's "deep forgery" of celebrity voices. A certain company used AI synthesis to produce books that were highly similar to the voice of well-known education expert Li without authorization. The court ultimately ruled that the merchant should compensate 120000 yuan and apologize. The investigating judge believes that as long as AI synthesized sound can enable the public to identify specific natural persons, it falls within the scope of sound rights protection. Faced with chaos, regulatory authorities have taken strong measures. In February 2026, the two new regulations of "Supervision and Management Measures for Online Trading Platform Rules" and "Supervision and Management Measures for Live E-commerce" were officially implemented, which are regarded as key nodes in the industry's transformation from "wild growth" to "standardized quality improvement". Firstly, we need to establish a full chain responsibility system. The "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Live E-commerce" for the first time clarify the legal responsibilities of four types of entities: live e-commerce platforms, live room operators, anchors, and MCN institutions, forming a closed loop of "platform management of operation, operation management of content, anchor management of words and deeds, and merchant management of goods". Zhu Cambridge, Director of the Network Supervision Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation, stated that this measure aims to further clarify the legal responsibilities of each participating entity and strengthen normalized supervision. Next is to install a 'filter' for AI misuse. In response to the issue of AI technology abuse, the new regulations explicitly require that the use of AI generated character images and videos for live streaming e-commerce activities must be prominently labeled and continuously reminded to consumers. Zhu Xiaojuan, Vice Dean of the School of Civil and Commercial Economics and Law at China University of Political Science and Law, stated that this regulation not only guarantees consumers' right to know, but also provides a legal basis for addressing the chaos of "fake celebrities bringing goods". The third is the traffic control mechanism. Regulatory authorities may report information on illegal live streaming rooms to the platform, and the platform must take measures such as restricting traffic, suspending live streaming, or even closing accounts. Li Mingtao, Chief Expert of the China International E-commerce Center Research Institute, introduced that for e-commerce models with traffic as the core, traffic control can immediately affect the income sources of violators and has a deterrent effect that traditional fines cannot match. The heavy handed regulation not only targets false advertising, but also points to the abuse of rules by the platform itself. In response to the problem of big data "killing mature products", the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Online Trading Platform Rules" explicitly prohibit platforms from setting different prices for the same product under the same trading conditions without the knowledge of consumers. Such problems are not uncommon in reality. Ms. Su from Dezhou, Shandong purchased a grilled fish set meal priced at 138 yuan in a live broadcast room, but the checkout showed 148 yuan. Using her family's infrequent shopping account, the price changed back to 138 yuan. Ms. Shi from Nanchong, Sichuan discovered that when she placed an order for a hotpot set meal on her account for 39.9 yuan, the "small account" displayed a new price of only 29.9 yuan. Zhu Xiaojuan said that the new regulations have set a red line for platforms, and consumers who encounter such problems can have fixed evidence and protect their rights through platform complaints or government regulatory channels. Although the new regulations have been implemented, building a healthy digital ecosystem still faces challenges. Firstly, it is difficult to identify. Ms. Gao, who is facing a claim for AI synthesized "dead crab" videos, admitted that she hopes the platform can optimize the program to recognize AI images and videos. Some of them are too realistic, and it may not be possible to distinguish authenticity with the naked eye of customer service alone. ”Secondly, the cost of safeguarding rights is high. Ms. Zhu, a consumer, questioned after being "killed" by big data: "As an ordinary consumer, how can we prove that this is' killing '? How can the evidence be fixed? Platforms and merchants will always have a set of arguments." In addition, legislation still needs to be improved. During this year's National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, National People's Congress representative Lu Man proposed revising the E-commerce Law to enhance the regulatory capacity for new forms of unfair competition. She believes that some platforms use "algorithm recommendations" to indirectly force merchants to engage in vicious competition, and new issues such as the separation of people and goods in live streaming e-commerce and the use of "hold orders" language are worth paying attention to. Industry experts point out that building a benign digital ecosystem requires three layers of protection: the legal network needs to weave technical loopholes, the ethical ruler needs to measure the boundaries of innovation, and the collaborative governance needs to gather social consensus. With the clarification of regulatory frameworks, a transparent, fair, and trustworthy online platform trading environment will gradually enhance consumer confidence and promote the formation of a market atmosphere where consumers dare to consume and consume with confidence. (New Society)