In the Internet era, the "post-90s" and "post-00s" who are busy with work, have little social interaction, and live an "atomized" life often rely on various dating and dating online platforms to find a partner. Are these "cloud matchmakers" reliable? Banyuetan reporters conducted in-depth research and found that online dating platforms have deep marketing routines, many consumption traps, and difficulties in safeguarding rights. Finding a partner can be said to be full of dangers.
Online dating "talking about relationships hurts money"
Ms. Zheng, a citizen of Foshan, Guangdong, registered as a member on the dating platform "MarryU" in May. Soon the platform called her to inform her that a boy who liked her wanted to arrange a meeting for free. As soon as she arrived at the store, Ms. Zheng was taken into a small room. "They took turns to create psychological pressure on me, saying that I was old and had ordinary conditions, and it would be difficult to find the person I like if I were too late. I said I had no money, and they said that many girls pay in installments, a few hundred yuan a month. Within a few months, she found her partner. "
" Ms. Zheng was so deceived that she paid a fee of 14,300 yuan. "In less than a minute, they swiped the POS machine and then printed out the contract for signature. There was no time to react."
Ms. Zheng provided screenshots of the signed contract and payment
Banyuetan reporter joined a marriage and love retreat with more than 400 people. In the money group, members of the group paid as much as 80,000 to 90,000 yuan on the dating platform, while some paid as little as several thousand yuan. Some people used up all their savings, and some people did not have enough money and were deceived into using online loans to pay. In the end, they were "both human and financial". null".
On the black cat complaint platform, Ban Yuetan reporter searched with keywords and found more than 4,900 complaints about " Jiayuan ", more than 1,900 complaints about " Baihe.com ", and more than 2,300 complaints about " Zhenai.com ". There have been more than 750 complaints about "MarryU" and more than 1,400 complaints about "我主好狠". Complaints focus on false promises, deceptive consumption, guiding consumers to use credit cards or online loans to pay, and high fees and difficulty in refunds.
Reports show that my country’s Internet dating and dating market will reach 7.2 billion yuan in 2021, the number of Internet dating and dating users will exceed 30 million, and the number of matchmaking and related companies will exceed 20,000. But a market of this size is a mixed bag and full of pitfalls.
There are many pitfalls and it is difficult to protect rights
"Here are all women chasing men" "You don't need to add friends to chat directly" "If you want voice, just voice, if you want video, just video", a dating website called "Jiucha" has been used in many This is the slogan in the advertisement.
After Ban Yuetan reporter registered as a male through the "Jiu Chat" app, he immediately prompted multiple women to come and strike up a conversation with ambiguous words. When the reporter replied to the message, a recharge page would pop up. After completing the "daily recharge", multiple unfamiliar accounts will actively request voice and video chat. Video chat is 159 gold coins/minute, voice chat is 79 gold coins/minute, and text message is 8 gold coins/minute.
Screenshots of recharge prompts for voice and video calls on the Juliao App
A reporter from Banyuetan found that complaints about “Jiucha” on multiple complaint platforms all pointed to “consumption inducement”, “dating fraud” and “false routines”. "This is a bottomless pit. You can only keep recharging money to buy gifts. Every interaction requires money to pave the way." A matchmaking practitioner told reporters that "chatting to make money" has developed into a gray industry, also known as "chatting as a shill" ". They have a complete training system and sharing mechanism. The task of the "chatter" is to strike up conversations and induce users to spend money chatting and receiving gifts. "Making friends" actually means "paying money."
There are many dangers in consumption on online platforms, and it is also difficult to guard against hidden dangers on offline platforms. "As long as you pay 26,600 yuan, you will be guaranteed to get married within half a year." Mr. Yuan, who works in Dongguan, Guangdong, said that under the inducement of the matchmaker, he completed the payment by swiping a card and taking a loan at a Century Jiayuan offline store, "I swiped 10,000 yuan Yuan, they said that the remaining 16,600 yuan would be loaned to me by Jiayuan. If I didn’t introduce a satisfactory girl, I didn’t have to pay back the loan money. Later I found out that they used my ID card to borrow money from the bank."
Screenshots of loan and payment records provided by Mr. Yuan to reporters
Ban Yuetan reporter reviewed multiple documents and contracts and found that many promises made by the dating agency were not included in the contract. If consumers lack legal awareness, do not read the contract clearly, and do not retain and It is very difficult to collect relevant evidence and defend their rights afterwards. It is also difficult to distinguish whether it is an ordinary emotional dispute or an illegal crime when the person you are dating is maliciously cheating and inducing consumption.
The personal information is almost unlucky. , Privacy and security frequently tread on the red line
The value of a dating platform is to provide authentic and reliable dating information for both parties. In recent years, many platforms have been notified by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for illegally collecting personal information beyond the scope.
Banyuetan reporter wanted to make a local dating platform. Because of the app, we contacted an organization engaged in customized app development services. The staff of the other party promised that the developed app could be connected to a third-party payment system and could perform real-name and face recognition authentication. When the reporter asked whether the member’s chat history could be viewed, When browsing the content, the staff member said, "Of course, the system will be handed over to you after you are done. You can watch whatever you want."
Ms. Li provided the reporter with the issue of the boundaries of personal information collection. Chat screenshots of Century Jiayuan staff
Banyuetan reporter tested a dating app, which showed that the personal information it collected included name, age, phone number, real estate information, vehicle information, static or dynamic facial features, as well as communication records and content, Accommodation information, web browsing records, precise positioning information, etc. These detailed information can completely outline the "user portrait" to achieve "precision marketing".
According to relevant regulations, the processing of personal information should have a clear and reasonable purpose. Zhang Wei, the founding partner and lawyer of Guangdong Xieyan Law Firm, said that excessive collection of personal information and profit-making by the platform will seriously infringe on consumers’ rights to know, and fair trade, and information. Security rights and other legitimate rights and interests.
To rectify chaos, we need self-discipline but also other disciplines.
Unfair business practices not only infringe on the rights of consumers, but also plunge dating and dating platforms into a crisis of trust, ultimately affecting the healthy development of the entire industry. Liu Junhai, a professor at the University Law School, said: "If the platform cannot be self-disciplined, regulators must step forward and use the market access, administrative guidance, administrative supervision and administration provided by the law in accordance with the law. Punishment and other powers. ”
In addition to consumers continuing to strengthen their awareness of self-protection, administrative supervision and justice must go hand in hand to eliminate regulatory blind spots, strengthen administrative penalties, increase the cost of violating the law, and reduce the cost of rights protection. Liu Junhai suggested that infringements of dating websites that have national significance File a public interest lawsuit to allow consumers to defend their rights at zero cost.
Regarding user information security, Zuo Xiaodong, deputy director of the China Information Security Research Institute, said that relevant companies must protect users’ personal information in accordance with laws and regulations, and regulatory authorities must increase law enforcement to prevent The platform plays a "edge game". Consumers should increase their awareness of rights protection and evidence preservation, and seek help from relevant departments and legal professionals in a timely manner when their personal rights are violated.
Hu Zhanhong, head of the Guangzhou Youth Marriage Service Research Center, believes. , it is very important to establish a correct view of marriage and love. Finding a partner is to find a life partner, rather than looking for a way to improve your life. Only by constantly improving yourself can you more easily meet the "best" life partner
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