A Study on the Civil Liability of Third-Party Streamers in False Advertising

Abstract

Livestream shopping has become a key part of the digital economy, yet it is also fraught with problems. The phenomenon of false advertising caused by third-party streamers is increasingly prominent, which seriously harms the rights and interests of consumers and negatively affects the order of market competition. Synthesizing the norms and experiences in theory and practice, and categorizing civil liability based on the actual function played by the third-party streamers in livestreaming sales and the legal relationship with the business operators. A clearer liability framework has been formed, such as the joint and several liability of the employed third-party streamers in false advertising, liability for breach of contract and damages liability of the fiduciary third-party streamers in false advertising. To determine the civil liability of third-party streamers, the first consideration is whether the act of false advertising is sufficient to cause consumers to misunderstand, and then to recognize the three different types of damages caused by false advertising, personal injuries, property damage, and infringement of consumers’ right to know. Then explore the causation between the act and the result, and then decide whether to take into account the subjective attitude by the type of damages. Finally, the allocation of liability between the third-party streamers and the business operators in the case of joint tortfeasance is objectively analyzed by combining the principle of fairness and self-responsibility. It clarifies the circumstances under which the third- party streamer assumes and exempts from civil liability, adds the principle of no-fault liability for personal injury caused by false advertising to consumers, and promotes the healthy development of the livestream shopping industry by improving the doctrinal norms.