Guangzhou Internet Court: the rapid growth of disputes involving live broadcast e-commerce, will strengthen collaborative governance.

Reporters learned from the news conference held by the Guangzhou Internet Court on March 13 that from 2018 to 2025, the court has accepted a total of 2604 cases related to live streaming e-commerce. With the development of the industry, the number of such cases has entered a rapid growth channel, with 806 cases accepted in 2025, an 8.4-fold increase from 2020. The objective situation of case handling reflects the prominent issues in the current live streaming industry such as the intertwining of business entities, the fuzzy boundary of anchor responsibilities, and the misconduct of commercial propaganda. From the perspective of the products involved in the lawsuits, there is a high degree of concentration. Cases involving gold and jade account for about 37% of disputes related to live-streamed e-commerce shopping, becoming a high-incidence area due to the high value of goods, the high level of professionalism, and the limitations of live broadcast demonstrations. In terms of the reasons for the cases, more than 70% are related to infringement disputes, with a total of 1954 cases involving intellectual property rights and online infringement disputes, mostly manifested as the unauthorized use of live stream clips and defamation of reputation among anchors. It has become a common practice for ordinary consumers to uphold their rights through legal means, showing a trend towards part-time rights protection. Zhao Jianwen, the vice president of the Guangzhou Internet Court, stated that the next step would be to continuously improve the rules for adjudication in the field of live streaming e-commerce, strengthen coordination with market supervision and industry associations, promote the formation of a governance structure involving multiple parties, and effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of consumers and the fair competition of the market order.