If an accident occurs while using ¡°smart driving,¡± is it possible to request access to the vehicle¡¯s driving data? If an order is placed by exploiting a system vulnerability, is the sales contract valid? If a merchant goes out of business, how can the prepaid card balance be refunded?

To implement the strategy of expanding domestic demand, actively respond to the relevant provisions in the Outline of the 15^th Five-Year Plan on ¡°vigorously boosting consumption,¡± accelerate the development of Shanghai as an international consumption center, fully leverage the judicial function, strengthen the protection of consumer rights, and foster a healthy rule-of-law environment for consumption, the Shanghai Jiading District People¡¯s Court (hereinafter referred to as the ¡°Jiading Court¡±) recently held a press conference to release a white paper and typical cases on consumer rights disputes. It reported on the adjudication of such cases in 2025 and announced and analyzed ten typical cases concerning consumer rights.

Lu Wenjia, Vice President of the Jiading Court, and Pan Jing, Chief Judge of the Nanxiang People¡¯s Court of the Jiading Court, attended the press conference and answered questions. Deputies to the Jiading District People¡¯s Congress, members of the Jiading District Committee of the Chinese People¡¯s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and representatives from several news outlets were invited to the event. The press conference was hosted by Yang Yingfei, Director of the Political Department and Spokesperson of the Jiading Court.

Adjudication of consumer rights cases

According to the white paper, in 2025, the Jiading Court accepted a total of 1,496 cases related to consumer rights, representing a year-on-year increase of 39.94% from 1,069 cases in 2024. Such an increase is highly correlated with the growing awareness of consumer rights protection, the increasing frequency of goods and services trade, and the accelerated flow of production factors.

In terms of case types, among the consumer rights cases accepted, the top five causes of action are: service contract disputes (669 cases, 44.72%); sales contract disputes (272 cases, 18.18%); disputes over online information network sales contracts (162 cases, 10.83%); online service contract disputes (107 cases, 7.15%); and education and training contract disputes (92 cases, 6.15%).

Regarding the application of procedures, among the various consumer rights cases accepted in 2025, 210 cases are subject to ordinary procedures, 669 to summary procedures, and 617 to small claims procedures. The application rate of summary procedures (including small claims procedures) is 85.96%.

Consumer rights cases demonstrate these characteristics:

1. Multi-dimensional consumer disputes across various sectors, showing notable regional industrial features

Consumer rights cases accepted in 2025 involve online, livestream, and offline shopping channels. The goods and services involved include traditional sectors, cultural and sports industries such as fitness and education and training, as well as emerging sectors such as new energy vehicles and custom smart home solutions. Specifically, there are 143 cases involving automobile consumption, accounting for 9.56%; 204 involving online consumption such as e-commerce and livestream shopping, accounting for 13.63%; and 78 involving gaming consumption, accounting for 5.21%.

2. Growing impact of deep integration in the Yangtze River Delta, with a relatively high proportion of cross-regional disputes

Among the consumer rights cases accepted, 719 cases¡ªor 48.06%¡ªinvolve parties all located in the Yangtze River Delta region, spanning sectors such as cultural and sports, automobile, and food and pharmaceutical consumption. This figure represents a year-on-year increase of 39.07% from 517 cases in 2024, further highlighting the agglomeration effect of a deeply integrated Yangtze River Delta.

3. Low success rate for punitive damages claims, indicating consumer misunderstandings

In 2025, among the consumer rights cases accepted by the Jiading Court, 171 cases involving punitive damages claims such as ¡°triple compensation¡± or ¡°tenfold compensation¡± were concluded. Of these, 27 were settled through mediation, 75 were withdrawn, 64 were resolved by judgment, and 5 were concluded by other means. As most claims are improperly asserted by consumers, among the cases resolved by judgment, 11 result in punitive damages being awarded, yielding a success rate of 17.19%.

4. Frequent occurrence of professional claims and prepaid card disputes, with a high number of batch cases

There is a significant number of batch cases among the civil consumer protection cases accepted in 2025. There are 12 batches involving the same plaintiff, totaling 80 cases, in which the plaintiff filed separate lawsuits for punitive damages based on multiple consumption acts, indicating a high likelihood of professional claimants. There are 81 batches involving the same defendant, totaling 512 cases, spanning cultural and sports consumption sectors such as fitness, maternal and child services, and education and training, giving rise to group litigation stemming from prepaid disputes.

5. Declining trend in platform-related consumer disputes, thanks to notable progress in platform co-governance

With the development of the platform economy, disputes related to platform consumption have continued to emerge. Leveraging the Shanghai Court Digital Economy Judicial Research and Practice (Jiading) Base and its think tank consortium, the Jiading Court has conducted practical research on various platform economy-related disputes¡ªincluding those involving platform consumption¡ªto facilitate the resolution of such cases. In 2025, there were 205 cases involving disputes related to online platform consumption, representing a decrease of 20.54% from the previous year and indicating a clear downward trend.

Consumer rights disputes arise from a booming and expanding consumer market, and are closely tied to industrial development trends and the behavioral patterns of various stakeholders. In light of this, the white paper, drawing on regional industrial characteristics and case adjudication experience, selects four categories of cases for analysis: automobile consumption, gaming consumption, cultural and sports consumption, and food and pharmaceutical consumption.

The white paper summarizes three areas of challenges identified in the adjudication of consumer rights cases:

1. On Cognition and Capacity:

(1) Consumers lack prudent transaction awareness;

(2) Some business operators have little awareness of the rule of law.

2. On Regulation and Mechanisms:

(1) Some business operators lack proper internal control mechanisms;

(2) Dispute resolution mechanisms require further optimization.

3. On Resources and Enforcement:

(1) There is a mismatch between the supply of dispute resolution resources and the demand for dispute resolution;

(2) Regulatory coordination mechanisms require improvement.

To effectively protect consumers¡¯ legitimate rights and interests, guide business operators to comply with the law, and ensure the steady and orderly development of the consumer market, the white paper proposes accordingly to improve consumer rights-related work:

1. Pathways for Cognitive and Behavioral Improvement

(1) Strengthen consumer risk awareness:

   - Fully verify basic transaction information;

   - Carefully review key contract terms;

   - Establish a protection system for special consumer groups.

(2) Strengthen business operators¡¯ awareness of lawful operations:

   - Enhance integrity awareness and eliminate false advertising;

   - Improve complaint handling mechanisms and open up channels for rights protection.

2. Measures for Regulatory and Mechanism Enhancement

(1) Improve business operators¡¯ compliance and operational management:

   - Enhance contract management and implement electronic contract signing systems;

   - Strengthen internal management systems and enhance staff training;

   - Implement quality control position responsibilities and establish safety records.

(2) Improve diversified dispute resolution and coordinated mechanisms:

   - Establish a ¡°negotiation¨Ccomplaint¨Cmediation¨Clitigation¡± mechanism;

   - Strengthen coordination to enhance the effectiveness of consumer rights protection in cases involving multiple consumers.

3. Recommendations for Resource and Enforcement Optimization

(1) Improve alignment between dispute resolution resources and needs:

   - Enhance the categorized handling system for complaints and reports;

   - Explore information sharing mechanisms.

(2) Strengthen coordinated governance and digital regulatory mechanisms:

   - Promote coordinated regulatory governance and enhance cross-regional protection effectiveness;

   - Optimize regulatory approaches and establish mechanisms for consumer risk prevention and resolution.

Ten cases released to serve as typical examples

At the press conference, the Jiading Court also announced and analyzed the Typical Cases Concerning Consumer Rights. The ten cases focus on areas of public concern such as gaming consumption, automobile consumption, online shopping, food and pharmaceutical consumption, used car transactions, and prepaid card consumption. By interpreting the law through specific cases and promoting governance through case handling, the court safeguards the bottom line of fair consumption and helps foster a safe, trustworthy, and reassuring consumption environment.

For instance, the case of Ma v. X Company over an online service contract holds that online game operators may not unilaterally suspend services at will, and that virtual property formed through consumer recharges should be protected in accordance with the law, demonstrating the judiciary¡¯s strong protection of consumers¡¯ property rights in the digital age.

The case of Qian v. Shanghai X Technology Service Co., Ltd. over a sales contract clarifies the boundaries of accessing smart vehicle data. It has not only protected consumers¡¯ rights to know and oversee driving data in accordance with the law, but also balanced enterprises¡¯ legitimate rights to data security and technological innovation, providing valuable guidance for the orderly development of the smart driving industry.

The cases of Zhang v. Xu over a sales contract and Deng v. Shanghai X Trading Company over an online information network sales contract focus on the identification of the contracting party and contract validity. By establishing that a ¡°private seller¡± of a used car may be deemed a business operator, and that a contract formed by maliciously exploiting platform vulnerabilities is not formed, these cases provide clear judicial guidance for regulating online consumption and used car transactions.

Comments from Deputies and Members

Sun Jian

Deputy to the Jiading District People¡¯s Congress, Secretary of the General Party Branch of Jinl¨¹ Village, Huating Town, Jiading District

It is a great honor to attend today¡¯s press conference for the White Paper on Adjudication of Consumer Rights Cases and Typical Cases by the Jiading District People¡¯s Court. The white paper systematically reviews the current state and development trends of consumer rights case adjudication in the district, provides a precise analysis of common issues faced by consumers and business operators in case handling, and proposes targeted risk prevention measures and standardized guidance for rights protection. Notably, the practical measures outlined in the white paper¡ªsuch as strengthening consumer risk awareness, guiding business operators to operate in compliance with the law, improving diversified dispute resolution and coordination mechanisms, advancing digital collaborative governance, and optimizing regulatory effectiveness¡ªprovide solid judicial support and professional solutions for addressing common governance challenges in the consumer sector and enhancing regional consumer governance capabilities. Through this press conference, I have come to appreciate that the Jiading Court not only fulfills its judicial function by upholding fairness and justice in individual cases and effectively protecting consumers¡¯ legitimate rights and interests, but also proactively extends judicial services to support the healthy development of the district¡¯s consumer market. In doing so, it demonstrates solid judicial performance and outstanding achievements in fostering a rule-of-law business environment and advancing regional governance modernization.

Wang Yi

Member of the CPPCC Jiading District Committee, Principal of Xuhang Middle School, Jiading District

As a CPPCC member and also a consumer, I believe that the White Paper on Adjudication of Consumer Rights Cases released by the Jiading Court is both practical and forward-looking. Meanwhile, the ten typical cases released at the press conference precisely focus on consumer pain points such as ¡°online gaming,¡± ¡°smart vehicles,¡± and ¡°prepaid cards,¡± drawing clear lines of responsibility. They establish boundaries for business operators on what they must not do, while also pointing consumers toward pathways for rights protection, offering practical guidance and serving as valuable references. This reflects not only judicial wisdom but also a strong commitment to ¡°safe consumption.¡± These cases provide guidance for industry compliance, help promote coordination among platforms, merchants, and regulators, making ¡°lawful operation¡± a market consensus and ¡°rational rights protection¡± a social norm. Together, they protect consumer rights and reinforce the foundation of consumer confidence.