The popularity of "Black Myth: Wukong" has driven the popularity of the game's live broadcast. Huya and Douyu are the two leading domestic game live broadcast platforms, and in the Xiaomi mobile phone app store, the Huya live App alone has been downloaded as many as 1.2 billion times.
Recently, many consumers have reported to Consumer Reports that they have encountered disputes between anchors and minors on the live broadcast platform and difficulties in recharging and refunding minors. Although game live broadcast has brought convenience to game parties, platforms, anchors, and users, there are also many chaotic phenomena that need to be regulated urgently.
▲ Huya Live App Home
Huya's live broadcast room now advertises a large number of agents, leading to transaction disputes
On July 25 this year, Mr. Zhao, who works in Hefei, Anhui Province, was browsing the live broadcast of the game in Huya when he saw that there was a proxy (help) advertisement in the live broadcast room of a certain anchor, so he added the WeChat account displayed in the live broadcast room. Mr. Zhao told the "Consumer Reports" reporter that he paid 500 yuan, and the other party promised to help him play the Glory of Kings game, and within a week, he would be on the Glory King plus Xuan Ce Gold Standard (game character title). But a week later (August 1), he found that the other party had not fulfilled his promise, so he applied for a refund, but the other party did not agree.
Subsequently, Mr. Zhao exposed the anchor's "running order" on the Huya platform and the complaint platform, and the other party also blocked him.
The reporter of this magazine clicked on the live broadcast page of an anchor on the Huya platform, and indeed saw a lot of advertisements and WeChat information, such as "limited-time activities: 300 can be on the number to help fight glory", "188 with the car glory", "WeChat CX9190XXXXX (WeChat ID)" and so on.
And this kind of "substitution" advertising not only appears in the live broadcast room of Honor of Kings, but also abounds on the live broadcast screen of games such as LOL, DNF mobile games, CF, and eating chicken.
▲There are more advertisements in the live broadcast room of the anchor in the Huya Live App
Mr. Zhao said that he initiated three complaints within Huya, and Huya replied to him, "The staff of your feedback is being verified and handled, and the verification results will be notified through SMS/Huya private message in the future, please pay attention to it, thank you for your support of Huya Live!" However, the complaint records all show that the transaction dispute is "completed". In fact, Mr. Zhao did not receive a further reply.
▲Huya replied to Mr. Zhao that "it is being verified and processed"
It is worth mentioning that you can also initiate a sparring game (playing games in a team) on the Huya Live App, which generally requires 0 to 50 Huya coins per game.
On the Huya Live App, consumers can use "Huya Coins" to recharge, reward, play and other transactions. "Huya Coins" is the virtual currency of Huya, with a ratio of 1:1 to RMB (recharge with an Android phone).
▲Huya Live App can be played in a team
These live broadcast room advertisements generally require players to add WeChat or QQ to contact and trade, so the money transaction did not occur on the Huya platform, but many complainants believe that the anchor advertises on the Huya platform, and the Huya platform is also responsible, so they have initiated a complaint.
Does Huya platform have any relevant responsibilities for the live broadcast room advertisements on the platform?
Lawyer Li Guangjie, a partner of Guangxi Yingcong Law Firm, said in an interview with a reporter from Consumer Reports: "According to the "Measures for the Administration of Internet Advertising" and other regulations, Huya Platform, as an Internet platform operator, has the responsibility of information recording, content supervision, complaint handling, cooperation with supervision, assistance in investigation, user management and other responsibilities for the anchor's advertising behavior in the live broadcast room. Delete, block or disconnect links, etc., to stop violations of the law and keep records. ”
It is difficult for minors to get refunds, and someone rewarded 88,000
In August 2024, this magazine published an article on betta fish being involved in underage refund and difficult complaints. In fact, the difficulty of refunding minors does not only exist on the game live broadcast platform of Douyu, but also exists on Huya.
Ms. Chen, from Shaanxi, complained to Consumer Reports that her niece, who was a freshman in high school, spent a total of 88,000 yuan on the Huya platform between November 2023 and March 2024. She found out that her niece had rewarded the anchor and filed a refund appeal with the Huya platform.
After adding the account of the Huya customer service specialist, Ms. Chen submitted the video of the household registration book, the video of the guardian's knowledge (the parent took a photo with the ID card), and the proof of kinship to the Huya customer service commissioner.
"I gave a lot of evidence, but Huya customer service still replied that there was no refund." Ms. Chen told reporters.
▲ The consumption bill of her niece provided by Ms. Chen consumed nearly 60,000 yuan in 2 months
According to the juvenile protection complaint process provided by Ms. Chen to reporters, the materials required by the Huya platform include proof of parent-child relationship, complete recharge details, refund application, and evidence materials.
Huya's customer service specialist replied to her: "After our detailed review and analysis of your materials and the actual use of your account, the comprehensive review has not fully judged that it is a minor tip, so the result of this appeal is no refund." ”
Ms. Chen thinks that the registration and tipping process of the Huya Live App is too simple: "After downloading the Huya Live App, you can register an account with one click of logging in with your mobile phone number, and the platform does not require real-name authentication when tipping. ”
▲Huya replied to Ms. Chen, "The comprehensive review failed to fully judge that it was a minor tip" and "no refund"
Coincidentally, Mr. Liu from Shandong found that his son's living expenses in high school were abnormal, and when he checked the consumption records, he found that he had rewarded the anchor of the Huya platform with hundreds of yuan, so he uploaded the transaction flow and proof of parent-child relationship and asked for a refund.
Huya's reply to him in the complaint channel is highly consistent with the reply to Ms. Chen: "After our detailed review and analysis of your materials and the actual use of your account, we can completely judge that it is a minor tip, so the result of this appeal is no refund." ”
For minors tipping anchors, can parents request a refund after discovering it? What is the legal basis?
Lawyer Li Guangjie said in an interview with Consumer Reports: "According to Articles 19 and 20 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, game top-ups made by minors under the age of eight have no legal effect, and must be represented and agreed by their parents or guardians, otherwise they can request a refund. For minors over the age of eight, if the recharged game amount is large, does not match their age, intelligence level, spending power and consumption level, and has not been approved and recognized by their parents or guardians, their parents or guardians can request a refund. ”
In other words, if it is verified that it is indeed a minor, the platform should refund the money, and the platform should inform the user of the relevant risks before recharging and tipping. So, when minors recharge and consume on the Huya Live platform, does the platform inform them of the relevant risks and obtain the consent of their guardians?
The reporter of "Consumer Reports" found that when recharging Huya coins, there is a "Huya Recharge Service Agreement" at the bottom of the Huya Live App that needs to be checked. After clicking on it, the agreement states that "Special reminder: Huya firmly opposes minor users and other users who do not have full capacity for civil conduct (hereinafter referred to as 'wards') to use the recharge service without the consent of the guardian, and the ward should entrust the guardian to operate or operate under the express consent and guidance of the guardian, otherwise please do not use this recharge service; ”
Even if there are relevant reminders, in fact, consumers can freely recharge and reward as long as they click on this option.
Therefore, it is difficult to eliminate all kinds of complaints, and on a consumer complaint platform, there are as many as 4,609 complaints involving "Huya", and the complaints are mainly focused on the difficulty of refunds for minors, anchors, and uncashed prizes.
In this regard, lawyer Li Guangjie suggests: "If consumers encounter problems such as minors recharging or being defrauded, they should first keep all transaction records and relevant evidence, and then negotiate with the platform to request a refund or take other remedial measures." If the negotiation fails, you can file a complaint with the consumer association or directly file a lawsuit with the people's court to request a refund. ”
Huya's revenue has declined for 11 consecutive quarters, and the game live broadcast business has been under pressure
According to Huya's official website, Huya is an Internet technology company with live broadcast as its core business and diversified development of game-related services, and its products include Huya Live, a well-known domestic live broadcast platform, Nimo, a global pan-entertainment live broadcast platform and game live broadcast platform. The platform covers a number of game categories and e-sports events, bringing together many world champion-level contracted teams, professional players and top streamers, and has a complete system of copyright events and self-organized events.
In 2018, Huya (NYSE:HUYA) was listed on the New York Stock Exchange, known as the "No. 1 game live streaming stock in China", hitting a market capitalization high of about $9 billion at the beginning of its listing, and as of August 28, 2024, its market capitalization is less than $1 billion, a decline of nearly 90%.
On August 13 this year, Huya disclosed its results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2024. In terms of revenue, in the second quarter of this year, the company's revenue was 1.542 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 16.1%, and it has declined for 11 consecutive quarters (since the third quarter of 2021).
At present, Huya's business structure is simple, and there are only two main businesses, namely live broadcast business, advertising and other businesses, of which live broadcast business accounts for the vast majority. In the second quarter of 2024, Huya's live broadcast business revenue fell by 28.1% year-on-year to 1.233 billion yuan, accounting for nearly 8% of total revenue, becoming the main reason for the decline in the company's performance. In this regard, Huya explained in the financial report that "due to the macroeconomic and industry environment, as well as the company's proactive business adjustment in order to support strategic transformation and prudent operation".
Zhang Xiaorong, president of the Deepin Science and Technology Research Institute, said in an interview with the media that at present, China's game live broadcast industry has entered the stage of stock competition, with intensified involution, squeezed industry development space, limited market development potential, and many challenges, such as strict supervision, content homogenization, slowdown in user growth, loss of anchors and other thorny problems that are difficult to solve quickly, increasing the uncertainty of platform operation.
According to a research report released by Guotai Junan Securities (Hong Kong), investors' concerns about the impact of Douyin on Huya's competition are mainly reflected in their similar business models and competition for screen time. These concerns were further exacerbated by the regulator's release of the "Opinions on Strengthening the Management of Online Live Streaming Tips for Minors", giving Douyin an advantage in terms of regulation. This means that Huya's monthly active users are decreasing and growing more slowly, negatively impacting Huya's total revenue.
In response to the above complaints, Consumer Reports sent an interview letter to the Huya platform, but as of press time, no reply has been received.