After a decoration company completed its work, the customer found that the TV screen at home was cracked and subsequently posted multiple "avoiding pitfalls" graphics and texts on social media platforms, calling on everyone to stay away from the "unscrupulous merchant". The decoration company demanded compensation from the customer on the grounds of "infringement of reputation rights". Does a negative review count as an infringement of reputation rights? How would the People's Court rule?

[Case Review]

In May 2024, Mr. Jiang signed an Indoor Wall Painting Contract with a decoration company in Shanghai, with a total price of CNY 25,000. On the day of completion, Mr. Jiang discovered cracks on the screen of the Xiaomi TV in the living room. The manufacturer's assessment: "There is an obvious stress point on the top frame, indicating human-induced damage. Warranty is not applicable."

Mr. Jiang believed that the damage was caused by improper handling by the decoration company's employees and demanded compensation; the decoration company refused, and the two parties failed to reach an agreement through negotiation.

In August 2024, Mr. Jiang posted graphics and texts on multiple Internet platforms, complaining, "Be sure to avoid the unscrupulous merchant ****!"

The decoration company believed that Mr. Jiang had fabricated facts and used insulting terms such as "unscrupulous" and "avoiding pitfalls" to give negative online reviews, maliciously tarnishing its business reputation, resulting in customer order cancellations and wasted promotion fees, which had exceeded the boundaries of reasonable evaluation. Therefore, the decoration company filed a lawsuit with the people's court on the grounds of reputation infringement, demanding that Mr. Jiang cease the infringing act, apologize and eliminate the impact on relevant Internet platforms, and seek compensation of CNY 50,000 and legal fees of CNY 7,000.

After hearing the case, the people's court held that according to the consumer evaluation right system established by the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, when consumers express subjective feelings based on genuine service experiences and do not fabricate facts or use insulting language to disparage others' reputations,
their statements are protected by law. In this case, the damage to the TV occurred during the period when the decoration company was providing services. Although Mr. Jiang's use of terms such as "irresponsible" and "unscrupulous merchant" carried emotional undertones, the content he posted was an evaluation based on his own genuine consumption experience and subjective feelings, and did not exceed reasonable limits and scope, thus not constituting reputation infringement. Accordingly, the people's court ruled to dismiss all the claims of the decoration company.

[Judge's Remarks]

I. The law provides a protective umbrella for genuine evaluations

The consumer evaluation right is a legitimate right granted by law to every consumer, referring to the right of consumers to provide positive or negative evaluations of merchants based on objective facts and subjective experiences after receiving goods or services.

The Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Civil Code) lists "conducting public opinion supervision for the public interest" as an exemption from liability for reputation infringement. The Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests (hereinafter referred to as the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law) also explicitly grants "consumers the right to supervise goods, services, and their operators." Therefore, when consumers give evaluations based on genuine consumption experiences, even if their language carries emotions and their criticisms are direct, as long as they do not fabricate or distort facts or use insulting language, they have not exceeded the scope of legal supervision and are still protected by both the Civil Code and the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law. In this case, the damage to the TV during the decoration period was an objective fact, and the consumer's "complaints" were not maliciously fabricated but rather a legitimate exercise of the consumer's right to supervise the merchant.

II. Merchants have an obligation of moderate tolerance towards consumer criticism

Opting for Internet promotion to expand business means that merchants voluntarily accept broader scrutiny and supervision, and they should maintain necessary tolerance towards negative evaluations from consumers based on genuine experiences.

A market economy is a credit-based economy, and consumers make judgments by integrating information from multiple sources. Arbitrarily treating negative evaluations as infringement not only restricts consumers' right to supervision but also undermines fair market competition. The balanced protection offered by the law safeguards both the legitimate rights and interests of merchants and the credibility of the evaluation mechanism.

III. A clear and orderly online evaluation environment shall be jointly built

The Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law establishes the bottom line of "voluntariness, equality, fairness, and integrity" for transactions and evaluations. The Internet is not a lawless realm. When consumers evaluate products and services on online platforms, they shall adhere to the principles of legality, objectivity, and truthfulness, ensuring that even negative evaluations are well-founded.

For merchants, it is essential to view negative evaluations rationally and respond proactively: I. Adopt a correct attitude, viewing criticism as an opportunity to improve services rather than rushing to deny or counterattack; II. Enhance communication by establishing an efficient customer complaint response mechanism, proactively contacting consumers to verify situations and negotiate solutions to prevent escalation of conflicts; III. Make good use of rules by filing legitimate appeals through official platform channels and retaining evidence for malicious defamation with factual errors to safeguard rights in accordance with the law.

Online platforms shall improve evaluation dispute resolution mechanisms, establish two-way channels for merchant appeals and consumer evidence submission, and swiftly handle malicious defamation. Through sound laws and good governance, a healthy market environment shall be fostered where consumers dare to supervise and merchants are willing to accept and improve.

[Representative Comments]

Chen Chao, Member of the Shanghai Municipal People's Congress and Project Supervisor at Shanghai Hongkou Moving and Demolishing Industry Co., Ltd.

The judgment in this case clearly delineates the boundaries between "reasonable negative reviews" and "reputation infringement." On one hand, non-malicious negative evaluations given by consumers based on genuine experiences fall within the scope of normal public opinion supervision, and this supervisory right shall not be easily held accountable; on the other hand, the case also serves as a warning to merchants to focus their efforts on improving service quality. Being overly sensitive to non-malicious negative reviews and resorting to litigation for rights protection at every turn requires a certain degree of tolerance towards such evaluations.

The people's court accurately applied the provisions on public opinion supervision in the Civil Code, providing reassurance to consumers to "dare to evaluate and speak out," clarifying behavioral boundaries for platform economy participants. This also helps enhance consumer confidence, purify the online environment, and achieves unity of legal, social, and political effects, offering practical references for handling similar disputes in the future.

[Legal Provision Reference]

I. Civil Code of the People's Republic of China

Article 179 The main methods for bearing civil liability are as follows:

(I) Cessation of infringement;

(II) Removal of obstacles;

(III) Elimination of dangers;

(IV) Restitution of property;

(V) Restoration to the original state;

(VI) Repair, redoing, or replacement;

(VII) Continuation of performance;

(VIII) Compensation for losses;

(IX) Payment of liquidated damages;

(X) Elimination of adverse effects and restoration of reputation;

(XI) Making an apology.

Where the law provides for punitive damages, such provisions shall be followed.

The methods for bearing civil liability stipulated in this Article may be applied either independently or in combination.

Article 1025 Where an actor, in conducting news reporting or public opinion supervision for the public interest, affects the reputation of others, he or she shall not bear civil liability, except in any of the following circumstances:

(I) Fabricating or distorting facts;

(II) Failing to fulfill the obligation of reasonable verification of seriously inaccurate content provided by others;

(III) Using insulting language or other means to disparage the reputation of others.

Article 1164 This Part regulates civil relations arising from infringements upon civil rights and interests.

II. Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China

Article 67 A party shall be responsible for providing evidence to support its own claims.

Where a party or its agent ad litem is unable to collect evidence on its own due to objective reasons, or where the people's court deems it necessary for the trial of the case, the people's court shall investigate and collect such evidence.

The people's court shall comprehensively and objectively examine and verify evidence in accordance with legal procedures.

III. Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in the Trial of Civil Disputtes over Infringements upon Personal Rights and Interests through Information Networks

Article 11 Where a network user or a network service provider infringes upon the personal rights and interests of others, causing property losses or severe mental distress, and the infringed party requests compensation in accordance with the provisions of Articles 1182 and 1183 of the Civil Code, the people's court shall support such a request.

IV. Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests

Article 4 Business operators shall, in transactions with consumers, adhere to the principles of voluntariness, equality, fairness, honesty, and credibility.

Article 15 Consumers shall have the right to supervise goods and services, as well as the work related to the protection of consumer rights and interests.

...

Article 17 Business operators shall listen to the opinions of consumers regarding the goods or services they provide and accept supervision from consumers.