Since 2025, market regulatory departments across the province have closely monitored key areas related to people's livelihoods, focusing on advertising supervision, and have vigorously promoted special advertising governance campaigns, investigating and handling a number of illegal advertising cases that are closely related to public interests in accordance with the law. To leverage the demonstrative effect of typical cases in interpreting the law and providing education and warning, and to guide advertising entities to consciously abide by the law and operate with integrity, a batch of typical cases are now being disclosed.
Case 1: A Nanjing Trading Company Publishing Illegal Advertisements The party involved conducted live-stream marketing on its operated Douyin account, displaying, introducing, and promoting a product called "Yin Yong Dian Jiu." Its advertisement used "Implementing and carrying out the spirit of important speeches" as a promotional backdrop, and the live-stream commentary included statements such as: "There's something in the middle of the sofa that can't be shown; showing it will get the account banned," "Let me show you something else; the header above and the official seal below, I can't show you," and "A friend at a unit in Beijing drank this after their study session." By using incomplete or suggestive statements, the party led ordinary consumers to make associative connections, thereby indirectly implying a specific relationship between the product being promoted and state organs or state functionaries. This action violated Article 9, Item (2) of China's Advertising Law, constituting the use, or disguised use, of the names of state organs or state functionaries to publish advertisements. In April 2025, the Qinhuai District Market Supervision Administration in Nanjing imposed an administrative fine of 30,000 RMB on the party. After the case was concluded, law enforcement personnel provided advertising compliance guidance to the party to standardize its advertising practices.
Typical Significance: With the development of the live-streaming industry, some hosts use tactics like incomplete statements and substituting forbidden words to promote goods or services in a more covert manner, evading platform compliance requirements. The use of online live-stream marketing monitoring technologies by market regulators during case investigation sets a precedent for evidence collection and定性 (qualifying the illegality) in future similar cases.
Case 2: A Wuxi Media Company Publishing Illegal Advertisements The party involved operated an account on the Kuaishou platform and conducted live streams selling decommissioned RMB currency and commemorative coins. During the live commentary, it repeatedly used promotional language such as: "Any single one of these can be exchanged for many, many of the ones you hold," "Why can this break through around fifty? Around fifty is enough to ensure care in old age, something to rely on," and "All experts and scholars believe its peak will break through over two hundred; you only bring it out for major family events, whether buying a house or a car," implying that the goods sold had significant appreciation potential. This behavior violated Article 25, Paragraph 1, Item (1) of China's Advertising Law, constituting the publication of an advertisement for goods with expected investment returns that makes guaranteed promises about future earnings. In June 2025, the Binhu District Market Supervision Administration in Wuxi imposed an administrative fine of 10,000 RMB on the party. After the incident, the party ceased the live streams and sales of decommissioned RMB and commemorative coins.
Typical Significance: The regulatory requirements for traditional media advertisements under China's Advertising Law also apply to live streams. Promotional content in live streams, such as "commentary" and "sales talk," that exhibits characteristics of commercial advertising can be identified as the publication of commercial advertisements. Hosts creating a buying frenzy by exploiting consumers' desire for "value preservation and appreciation," using absolute or promissory language to explicitly or implicitly indicate future returns or promise升值 (appreciation), is explicitly prohibited by law. This clarifies the legal boundaries of live-stream commerce and warns relevant business entities to operate compliantly, not using "industry practices" as an excuse to evade supervision.
Case 3: A Xuzhou Electronic Equipment Co., Ltd. Publishing Illegal Advertisements The party involved published a graphic advertisement titled "September 18th: Never Forget the Rising Beacon Fires, Keep the Alarm Bell Ringing in Your Heart" on its self-operated WeChat public account. The graphic was accompanied by text including: "93rd Anniversary of the September 18th Incident: Remember History, Cherish Peace; Remember History, Warn the Future; Never Forget History, We Must Strengthen Ourselves; Never forget the rising beacon fires, keep the alarm bell ringing in your heart—1931-2024," "PANS磐石创新," and the company's email, website, and address. This action violated Article 9, Item (7) of China's Advertising Law, constituting the publication of an advertisement that disrupts social public order or contravenes good social customs. In March 2025, the Xuzhou Market Supervision Administration imposed an administrative fine of 30,000 RMB on the party. After the penalty decision was issued, law enforcement personnel provided compliance guidance, and the party promptly deleted the involved advertisement. No further advertising violations were found.
Typical Significance: The September 18th Incident anniversary is a political commemoration for remembering history and opposing acts of aggression, carrying the collective memory and emotional identity of the nation. Commercial advertising, being profit-driven, can diminish the solemnity of such occasions if used for marketing purposes, alienating public memory into consumer symbols and seriously impacting good social customs.
Case 4: A Suzhou Chain Pharmacy Co., Ltd. Publishing Illegal Advertisements The party involved published an article titled "Good News │ Tuoruida® (Capmatinib Hydrochloride Tablets) First Launch at Baijia Hui Ruifeng Chaoyang Store!" via its WeChat public account, promoting content such as: "Good News! Tuoruida® (Capmatinib Hydrochloride Tablets) First Launch at Baijia Hui Ruifeng Chaoyang Store!", "On June 12, 2024, Novartis announced that Tuoruida® (Capmatinib Hydrochloride Tablets) received approval from the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for marketing," and "Commercially Accessible: Tuoruida® Reshapes the New Standard for First-Line Treatment of METex14 Skipping Mutation in NSCLC." Upon verification, Tuoruida® is a prescription drug approved for market on June 12, 2024. This behavior violated Article 15, Paragraph 2 of China's Advertising Law, constituting the publication of a prescription drug advertisement outside of the medical and pharmaceutical professional publications jointly designated by the State Council's health administrative department and drug supervision and administration department. In July 2025, the Kunshan Market Supervision Administration imposed an administrative fine of 20,000 RMB on the party. After the case conclusion, compliance guidance was provided, and no similar violations were found in subsequent inspections.
Typical Significance: Prescription drugs are related to patients' life, health, and medication safety, and their advertisement is subject to strict legal regulations. Using popular science articles to advertise prescription drugs online may cause misunderstanding and mistaken purchases by consumers and other non-professionals. The handling of this case clarifies the rule that prescription drug advertisements can only be published in designated professional medical/pharmaceutical journals, urging enterprises to strictly comply with relevant laws and regulations and refrain from arbitrarily promoting prescription drugs through non-professional channels.
Case 5: A Huai'an Hotel Co., Ltd. Publishing Illegal Advertisements The party involved published a catering advertisement titled "National Day Feast, Join for a Beautiful Time" on its WeChat public account, containing phrases like "Grand Celebration of the Nation's Birth 1949-2024 Red Journey — Enlai Family Traditions Menu" and "Book Now, Warmly Congratulate the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China." Using the name of a deceased leader for commercial promotion in a catering advertisement objectively caused negative social impact. This action violated Article 9, Item (2) of China's Advertising Law, constituting the use, or disguised use, of the names of state organs or state functionaries to publish advertisements. In February 2025, the Huaiyin District Market Supervision Administration in Huai'an imposed an administrative fine of 2,000 RMB on the party. After the penalty decision, compliance guidance was provided, and no further violations were found.
Typical Significance: Using the names or images of deceased Party and state leaders for commercial marketing and promotion shows disrespect for revolutionary predecessors and can generate negative social impact. Business entities must strictly comply with laws and regulations when publishing advertisements; any attempt to use the names or images of state organs or functionaries for commercial promotion crosses a legal red line.
Case 6: A Yangzhou Trading Co., Ltd. Publishing Illegal Advertisements The party involved posted multiple videos containing images of tobacco products on its Douyin account. The video content included the company's name, address, contact number, and pictures of cigarettes. This action violated Article 22, Paragraph 1 of China's Advertising Law and Article 6, Paragraph 2 of the "Internet Advertising Management Measures," constituting the publication of tobacco advertisements in mass media, public places, public transport, or outdoors. In June 2025, the Gaoyou Market Supervision Administration imposed an administrative fine of 5,000 RMB on the party. After the penalty decision, compliance guidance was provided, and the party deleted the relevant advertisements.
Typical Significance: In this case, the business published covert tobacco advertisements by sharing daily life content through a personal account, violating the prohibition against publishing tobacco advertisements in any form in mass media. The investigation and handling of this case, through concrete判定标准 (criteria for determination), provides clear guidance for businesses and self-media practitioners, helps businesses better understand the "boundaries" of commercial advertising, and effectively regulates commercial marketing activities on self-media platforms, thereby maintaining market order.
Case 7: A Taizhou Beauty Center Publishing Illegal Advertisements The party involved published an advertisement video on the Douyin platform containing content such as: "Don't be a yellow-faced wife," "The meaning of work is to make more women become the sweetheart of big brothers," "Girls, the bride price will double after becoming beautiful," "Our beauty salon brand has done countless cases, but none solved such problems," "We treat it using our method," and "After completing our treatment cycle." Investigation confirmed that the above content clearly involved promoting inappropriate values and violating social ethics. These actions violated Article 9, Item (7), Article 13, and Article 17 of China's Advertising Law, respectively, constituting the publication of advertisements that violate good social customs, disparage other producers' goods or services, and non-medical/drug/medical device advertisements involving claims of disease treatment function. In May 2025, the Hailing District Market Supervision Administration in Taizhou imposed an administrative fine of 6,000 RMB on the party. After the case conclusion, compliance guidance was provided, and no similar violations were found.
Typical Significance: In recent years, in consumer sectors like the beauty industry, some unscrupulous businesses, pursuing short-term gains, resort to using vulgar, utilitarian content in advertisements to attract consumer attention. In this case, the party deliberately created appearance anxiety, simplistically equated female value with appearance, and improperly linked female appearance to marriage, seriously violating good social customs and stimulating consumer demand by spreading inappropriate values. The handling of this case reflects the zero-tolerance attitude of market regulators towards advertisements containing不良导向 (poor guidance) content, warning businesses that while pursuing commercial interests, they must adhere to legal bottom lines and ethical standards.
Case 8: A Suqian Technology Co., Ltd. Publishing Illegal Advertisements The party involved conducted marketing by posting advertisements for "XX Daojia: Door-to-Door Massage" on parking gates in a downtown commercial plaza and underground parking lot, as well as through its WeChat public account. The advertisements contained statements like "Technicians are young, high-value, with professional skills; platform promises technicians aged 18-23; over 24 is free," linking female age to service quality and implying "young women are more attractive consumers," which demeans and objectifies women and极易造成 (is highly likely to cause) negative social impact. This action violated Article 9, Item (7) of China's Advertising Law, constituting the publication of an advertisement that disrupts social public order or contravenes good social customs. In June 2025, the Suyu District Market Supervision Administration in Suqian imposed an administrative fine of 30,000 RMB on the party. After the case conclusion, compliance guidance was provided to standardize advertising practices.
Typical Significance: Supervision norms for door-to-door service industries like massage are still being完善 (perfected), making them prone to marketing misconduct. The handling of this case serves as a clear industry warning, signaling that such "door-to-door economy" businesses cannot chase market trends by crossing legal red lines or violating ethical standards, and must not use practitioners' age, appearance, or other personal characteristics as marketing gimmicks. Simultaneously, the case points the industry towards compliant development directions: adhering to positive business philosophies,杜绝 (eliminating) so-called "creative marketing" at the expense of good social customs, and pursuing healthy, sustainable development paths.
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