Recently, mini dramas have attracted many audiences by virtue of their length, fast rhythm and compact plot. However, many short plays need to be recharged or paid for to watch all the content. Some readers reported that they had paid for watching micro dramas for no reason, especially some elderly people who were not familiar with electronic payment had unknowingly paid high fees.

Ms. Chen of Jing'an District, Shanghai, retired at home and often watched mini dramas with her mobile phone. "The first few episodes are free. When I saw the tenth episode, a prompt for recharging popped up on the screen." Ms. Chen thought that she could unlock the whole play for 9.9 yuan. Unexpectedly, after watching three episodes, she was prompted that the balance was insufficient and asked to continue recharging. The play pursued by Ms. Chen has a total of 80 episodes, and the ups and downs of the plot prompted her to recharge money again and again, first as "gold coins", and then directly open members. "After watching a play, she spent more than 200 yuan from beginning to end," said Ms. Chen, who chased a lot of mini plays and spent a lot of money.

In order to attract audiences to pay, some micro drama businesses are full of routines. Merchants first advertise on the video platform to attract viewers to jump to the applet. At the beginning, you can chase dramas for free, and you need to pay for watching after a certain number of episodes. Instead of directly recharging cash, the audience needs to convert into virtual currency units such as "gold coins", "gold beans" and "attractions", which are designed by the merchants themselves. It is up to the merchants to decide how many dramas these virtual currency units can watch. It is not only expensive, but also the exchange rules can be changed at will.

In order to induce the audience to pay, the merchants provide monthly, quarterly and annual members and other recharge modes, known as "the longer the time, the cheaper". However, after recharging members, audiences often encounter problems such as shorter episodes, inability to watch, and second payment. Even if you become a member of the year, you can only watch this mini play, and you can't watch other new plays.

In addition, some businesses will silently "help" the audience to renew their fees automatically. For example, when recharging for the first time, the option "Enable automatic unlocking of the next episode" is checked by default on the interface. Because the font size is too small and the location is inconspicuous, some viewers pay no attention at all and are continuously charged without knowing it.

In January this year, the China Consumer Association released the public opinion hot spots of consumer rights protection in the fourth quarter of 2023, including the short video platform micro drama induction payment. Liu Junhai, a professor at Renmin University of China's Law School, said that the low price gimmick was used to attract users, while the actual viewing cost reached tens of yuan or even hundreds of yuan, which was suspected of false propaganda; There are no clear and detailed use rules, user instructions, member agreements, etc. in the recharge interface, and even the automatic renewal by default, which infringes consumers' right to know and free choice.

"Relevant departments should strengthen supervision, introduce detailed rules and standards for review, as well as a credit supervision system, and include non-performing businesses and relevant responsible subjects in the 'blacklist'." Xu Zewei, president of the Beijing Internet Finance Industry Association, suggested that as a new cultural product, micro skits should also emphasize industry self-discipline, and leading enterprises can jointly develop industry standards, Then form industry norms, and ultimately promote the healthy and orderly development of the entire industry.

In order to purify the industry ecology, the State Administration of Radio and Television announced in November 2023 to launch the special rectification work of online mini dramas, accelerate the formulation of the Detailed Rules for the Creation, Production and Content Review of Online Micro dramas, and study and promote the inclusion of online mini drama APP and small programs into daily institutional management. Several short video platforms have also introduced measures to crack down on illegal low-quality micro skits.

In addition to credit supervision and industry self-discipline, attention should also be paid to the protection of consumers' rights and interests. Many short drama producers are often directly off the shelf after being complained, and consumers cannot find a way to refund their fees, which makes it difficult to safeguard their rights. "If the platform party cannot provide the specific name and effective contact information of the operator on the platform, the platform shall bear the first liability for compensation in case of dispute," said Liu Junhai.

At the same time, there is still room for improvement in the quality of content production and the maturity of business model. "Strengthening governance is not to restrict the development of micro dramas, but to make great progress in the industry." Xu Zewei suggested that the producers should pay more attention to the richness and depth of the plot, and create higher level works in cultural communication and ideological values while pursuing efficiency.

People's Daily (May 13, 2024, 07 Edition)

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