How to return the right of choice to consumers?, APP "Automatic Renewal" has sparked heated discussions on renewal | Members | APP

Economic observation: Consumers should be given the right to choose whether to renew the app as soon as possible

Last week, CCTV Finance Channel pointed out the issue of "automatic renewal" in multiple apps, which sparked heated public discussion.

The so-called APP automatic renewal, in simple terms, refers to consumers who originally wanted to only open a membership for one month but were automatically charged the next month, or simply wanted to experience a membership service at a low price for two days but were automatically charged one month's membership fee by the platform after experiencing it. During this process, some apps not only do not provide significant prompts, but also intentionally display key information such as automatic renewal in small font or font fading, misleading consumers.

From the perspective of the Consumer Rights Protection Law, consumers have the right to independently choose goods or services, so the choice of whether to renew an APP is in the hands of consumers. The issue of automatic renewal is suspected of infringing on consumers' right to choose and know. At the same time, this issue is also suspected of violating the E-commerce Law. Article 19 of the Law stipulates that e-commerce operators who engage in bundled sales of goods or services shall prominently draw the attention of consumers and shall not use bundled sales of goods or services as an option for default consent.

The issue of automatic renewal of apps has also attracted attention from multiple regulatory authorities. The Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Online Transactions formulated by the State Administration for Market Regulation clearly state that if online transaction operators provide services through automatic extension, automatic renewal, etc., they should draw the attention of consumers in a significant way before they receive the service and 5 days before the automatic extension, automatic renewal, etc.

In February this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the Notice on Further Improving the Mobile Internet Application Service Capability, which stipulates that if the service is provided in the form of automatic renewal and automatic renewal, the user's consent should be obtained, and the default check and mandatory bundling are not allowed. Prominent reminders will be provided to users 5 days prior to automatic renewal and renewal through SMS, message push, and other means. During the service period, convenient ways to unsubscribe at any time and cancel automatic renewal and renewal will be provided. In July of this year, Zhao Zhiguo, spokesperson and chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, stated that the focus will be on cracking down on pain points such as fraudulent and misleading downloads and mandatory automatic renewal, which have been highlighted by users.

However, according to reports from CCTV Finance, some apps ignore the requirements of relevant departments and still adopt the default selection method for automatic renewal. Moreover, many apps do not remind users in significant ways such as SMS and message push 5 days before automatic renewal. What is even more infuriating is that after being automatically renewed, consumers often face problems such as having no way to complain and difficulty refunding.

Although some apps claim that membership services can be cancelled at any time, the reality is that it is easy to purchase but difficult to cancel. Some apps have small and difficult to find entry points for unsubscribing, complex card setting operations, and cannot be cancelled in the app. They also need to enter third-party payment software for operation. Some apps, in order to prevent users from canceling membership services, even automatically deduct the next cycle fee a few days in advance, making it difficult for consumers to defend themselves.

The reason why these apps dare to ignore relevant laws and regulations as well as the requirements of relevant departments is mainly due to their low cost of illegal activities and high cost of consumer rights protection.

Therefore, in order to return the choice of whether to renew the APP to consumers, relevant departments need to increase supervision and punishment. For apps where consumers make large-scale complaints or are exposed by the media, relevant departments should take the initiative, impose strict penalties, and publicly expose them to form a deterrent, not just limited to interviews. At the same time, it is necessary to establish an integrated online and offline consumer rights protection channel to improve the efficiency of consumer dispute resolution. In addition, according to relevant regulations, third-party payment platforms can be required to provide significant reminders to consumers 5 days before default withholding, allowing consumers to choose to unsubscribe or renew, and providing convenient unsubscribe entry points.

For apps, instead of racking their brains to "calculate" consumers, it is better to start from optimizing services, providing users with a better member consumption experience, improving user stickiness, and encouraging users to voluntarily renew is the long-term development path.