Promulgated by: State Administration for Market Regulation; Cyberspace Administration of China.
Document No.: Order of the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Cyberspace Administration of China No. 116.
Promulgated on December 18, 2025. Effective February 1, 2026.
Chapter 1 General Provisions
Article 1. These Measures are formulated pursuant to the E-Commerce Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Consumers’ Rights and Interests, the Cybersecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China and other laws, in order to regulate the formulation, amendment and enforcement of online trading platform rules (hereinafter referred to as “platform rules”), maintain the order of online trading, protect the lawful rights and interests of all parties to online transactions, and promote the sound and sustainable development of the platform economy.
Article 2. These Measures shall apply to online trading platform operators in carrying out activities of formulating, amending and enforcing platform rules, as well as to the supervision and administration thereof by the market regulation and cyberspace administration authorities in accordance with their respective responsibilities.
Article 3. For the purposes of these Measures, an “online trading platform operator” means a legal person or unincorporated organization that, in online trading activities, provides services such as an online business venue, transaction matchmaking and information publication for two or more parties to a transaction, enabling them to independently carry out online trading activities.
Where a network service provider such as a social-networking or live-streaming service provides operators with online trading platform services such as an online business venue, product browsing, order generation and online payment, it shall fall within the scope of online trading platform operators prescribed in these Measures.
Article 4. For the purposes of these Measures, “platform rules” means the general term for the service agreements and trading rules that an online trading platform operator pre-formulates for compliance by all parties, for the purpose of serving the indefinite parties to online transactions and managing transaction-related activities on the platform.
Platform rules include online trading platform service agreements, management rules for in-platform operators, in-platform transaction and dispute-handling rules, personal information protection rules, intellectual property protection rules, and the like.
Agreements reached by an online trading platform operator through separate negotiation with a specific party that do not have broad applicability shall not fall within the platform rules prescribed in these Measures.
Article 5. In formulating, amending and enforcing platform rules, an online trading platform operator shall follow the principles of openness, fairness and impartiality, comply with laws, regulations, rules, commercial ethics and public order and good customs, and shall not use platform rules to engage in conduct that endangers national interests or the public interest of society, or that infringes upon the lawful rights and interests of any party to online transactions.
Article 6. An online trading platform operator shall, through the formulation, amendment and enforcement of platform rules, strengthen the management of the entry into and exit from the platform by in-platform operators and of in-platform transaction activities, and shall implement, in accordance with the law, its responsibilities in such aspects as product and service quality assurance, consumer rights protection, fair competition, credit management, information security management, online protection of minors, personal information protection, and network and data security protection.
Chapter 2 Formulation, Amendment and Enforcement of Platform Rules
Article 7. An online trading platform operator shall continuously publish, in a conspicuous position on the homepage of its website or application, the platform-rules information or a link identifier thereto, and shall ensure that operators and consumers can conveniently and completely read and download such information.
Article 8. The content of platform rules shall be clear and easy to read and understand.
An online trading platform operator shall, by conspicuous means such as bold typeface, prompt operators and consumers to note the content of platform rules that bears a material interest relationship with them, such as charges and dispute resolution, safeguard their right to know, and explain and clarify the relevant terms at the request of operators and consumers.
Article 9. An online trading platform operator shall take technical measures to set up a search function on the display page of platform rules, so as to facilitate operators’ and consumers’ retrieval and browsing of specific content in the platform rules.
Article 10. In formulating or amending platform rules, an online trading platform operator shall publicly solicit opinions in a conspicuous position on the homepage of its website or application. The online trading platform operator shall reserve necessary time and provide necessary technical support to ensure that the parties concerned can express their opinions in a timely and full manner.
Article 11. An online trading platform operator shall comprehensively and truthfully summarize and organize the opinions received in the course of soliciting opinions on platform rules; reasonable opinions shall be fully adopted, and there shall be reasonable grounds for opinions that are not adopted. The relevant materials shall be filed for future reference and retained for no less than three years from the date on which the solicitation of opinions ends.
Article 12. Platform rules formulated or amended by an online trading platform operator shall be publicized at least seven days before implementation.
For platform rules that involve a huge number of users, contain substantial amendments, or bear upon the important rights and interests of the parties concerned, publicization shall be made at least fifteen days before implementation.
Article 13. Where the formulation or amendment of platform rules by an online trading platform operator may have a material impact on the important rights and interests of the parties concerned, the operator shall, in addition to publicization in accordance with Article 12 of these Measures, set a reasonable transition period commensurate with the degree of impact, so as to provide convenient conditions for the parties concerned to properly handle the relevant matters.
Article 14. Where an in-platform operator or consumer does not accept the amended content of platform rules and requests to exit the platform or terminate the relevant services, the online trading platform operator shall not impede such exit or termination by means such as setting unreasonable conditions.
Where an in-platform operator or consumer requests to exit the platform or terminate the relevant services in accordance with the preceding paragraph, the online trading platform operator shall, in accordance with the platform rules in force before the amendment, bear the relevant responsibilities such as refunding fees according to actual circumstances, and shall not deliberately delay or unreasonably refuse.
Article 15. Where an online trading platform operator amends platform rules, it shall completely retain all historical versions for the three years preceding the effective date of the amended version, and shall ensure that operators and consumers can conveniently and completely read and download them.
Article 16. An online trading platform operator shall not compel or induce operators and consumers to express agreement to the relevant platform rules, and shall not set the relevant platform rules as a default option of agreement, except where the operators’ and consumers’ obligations are not increased and their rights and interests are not diminished.
Article 17. An online trading platform operator shall establish and improve a mechanism for communication and consultation on material matters of platform rules, and shall, through means such as regular discussions, symposiums and questionnaire surveys, carry out normalized communication and consultation on the formulation, amendment and enforcement of platform rules that bear material interest relationships with the parties concerned, comprehensively and truthfully summarize and organize the opinions collected in the course of communication and consultation; reasonable opinions shall be fully adopted, and there shall be reasonable grounds for opinions that are not adopted.
Article 18. An online trading platform operator shall, through the formulation, amendment and enforcement of platform rules, regulate conduct in online trading activities that violates laws, regulations, rules, commercial ethics, or public order and good customs, and prevent the lawful rights and interests of the parties concerned from being infringed.
Article 19. Where an online trading platform operator, in accordance with platform rules, takes measures against an in-platform operator or consumer that have a negative impact on their rights and interests, the operator shall inform them of the facts, reasons and basis of their violation of laws, regulations, rules or platform rules, and set up a convenient channel for complaints. Where laws and regulations provide otherwise, such provisions shall apply.
Where an in-platform operator or consumer lodges a complaint, the online trading platform operator shall promptly review the matter complained of and handle it objectively and impartially; where the matter is handled solely by technical means such as artificial intelligence and the complainant requests a human determination, the matter shall be handled by means of a human determination. After making a decision, the online trading platform operator shall promptly inform the complainant of the result.
Article 20. In the course of formulating, amending and enforcing platform rules, an online trading platform operator shall not impose unreasonable restrictions on the appeal rights of in-platform operators and consumers.
Article 21. An online trading platform operator shall specify in the platform rules the mechanism for resolving in-platform transaction disputes, and shall fairly allocate the burden of proof among the parties to in-platform transaction disputes in accordance with the relevant laws. Where the burden of proof of one party is reasonably reduced, the online trading platform operator shall take measures to identify, prevent and dispose of conduct that abuses such rule in violation of the principle of good faith and infringes upon the lawful rights and interests of the parties concerned.
Article 22. Where an online trading platform operator entrusts a third-party institution or personnel to enforce platform rules, it shall provide necessary training to them, and shall, in accordance with the law, bear the legal liability arising from improper enforcement by such third-party institution or personnel.
Chapter 3 Information, Network and Data Security Protection
Article 23. Where an online trading platform operator provides information publication services for in-platform operators and consumers, it shall, in a conspicuous manner in the platform rules, specify information security clauses for in-platform product and service information, transaction information, review information and the like, requiring in-platform operators and consumers to comply with laws, regulations and the relevant provisions of the State, refrain from producing, copying, publishing or disseminating illegal information, and take measures to prevent and resist the production, copying, publication or dissemination of harmful information.
Article 24. An online trading platform operator shall follow the principles of openness, fairness and impartiality, and shall, in the platform rules, specify in accordance with the law the norms for in-platform operators’ processing of personal information, and reasonably define the rights and obligations regarding personal information protection between itself and in-platform operators.
Article 25. Where an online trading platform operator, through platform rules, specifies the network data security protection obligations of third-party product and service providers that access its platform, it shall provide for the rights and obligations of the relevant parties in accordance with the law, and urge them to strengthen network data security management.
An online trading platform operator shall not use platform rules to engage in activities prohibited by laws and administrative regulations, such as illegally processing users’ network data or restricting users’ network data rights and interests without justified reasons.
Article 26. An online trading platform operator that has a huge number of minor users or has a significant influence on the group of minors shall follow the principles of openness, fairness and impartiality, formulate dedicated platform rules, specify in accordance with the law the obligations of in-platform operators for online protection of minors, and prompt minor users, in a conspicuous manner, of the online protection rights they enjoy in accordance with the law and the remedies for online infringement they suffer.
Chapter 4 Protection of the Rights and Interests of In-Platform Operators
Article 27. An online trading platform operator shall not use platform rules to engage in the following conduct that imposes unreasonable restrictions or attaches unreasonable conditions on the independent business activities of in-platform operators:
(I) compelling or in a disguised manner compelling in-platform operators to bear after-sales responsibilities such as refunding without returning goods, thereby harming their lawful rights and interests;
(II) compelling or in a disguised manner compelling in-platform operators to activate value-added services that are not necessary for their business activities, thereby increasing their operating costs;
(III) compelling or in a disguised manner compelling in-platform operators to participate in promotional or marketing activities;
(IV) compelling or in a disguised manner compelling in-platform operators to carry out business activities only on a specific platform; or
(V) other conduct that imposes unreasonable restrictions or attaches unreasonable conditions on the independent business activities of in-platform operators.
An online trading platform operator shall not compel or in a disguised manner compel in-platform operators to sell products or provide services at prices below cost in accordance with its pricing rules, thereby disrupting the order of market competition.
Article 28. An online trading platform operator shall not use platform rules to engage in the following conduct of charging unreasonable fees to in-platform operators:
(I) duplicate charging;
(II) charging without providing services or providing fewer services;
(III) passing on fees that should be borne by the platform itself;
(IV) charging in-platform operators fees for providing their basic operating data;
(V) compelling or in a disguised manner compelling in-platform operators to purchase services or participate in promotional or marketing activities and charging for them;
(VI) charging in a disguised manner or raising charging standards by means of manifestly unreasonable deposits or the like; or
(VII) charging other unreasonable fees.
An online trading platform operator shall not use platform rules to, where the same products or services are provided, apply price discrimination to in-platform operators with equivalent transaction conditions.
Article 29. Where an online trading platform operator sets liquidated damages or damages for breach for certain conduct of in-platform operators in the platform rules, it shall reasonably set the amount of liquidated damages or the method of calculating damages for breach; where liquidated damages or damages for breach are charged in accordance with the platform rules, the operator shall inform them of the corresponding basis and method of calculation, and shall not use platform rules to charge liquidated damages or damages for breach that manifestly exceed a reasonable level.
Chapter 5 Protection of Consumers’ Rights and Interests
Article 30. In the course of formulating, amending and enforcing platform rules, an online trading platform operator shall not exclude or restrict consumers’ rights, reduce or exempt its own liability, or unreasonably aggravate consumers’ liability, including specifically the following circumstances:
(I) requiring consumers to bear liquidated damages or damages for breach that exceed the statutory amount or manifestly exceed a reasonable amount;
(II) excluding or restricting consumers’ right to independently choose products or services in accordance with the law;
(III) excluding or restricting consumers’ right to claim liquidated damages or damages for breach in accordance with the law;
(IV) excluding or restricting consumers’ right to lodge complaints, make reports, request mediation, apply for arbitration, or institute litigation in accordance with the law; or
(V) other circumstances that exclude or restrict consumers’ rights, reduce or exempt its own liability, or unreasonably aggravate consumers’ liability.
Article 31. An online trading platform operator shall not use platform rules to set different prices or charging standards for the same product or service under equivalent transaction conditions without the consumer’s knowledge.
Article 32. Where a consumer purchases a membership service provided by an online trading platform operator, the online trading platform operator shall not, within the agreed service period, charge additional fees without authorization or diminish membership rights and interests by unilaterally amending the platform rules. Before a consumer continues to purchase the membership service, the online trading platform operator shall, in a conspicuous manner, inform the consumer of the changes in the platform rules relating to membership rights and interests.
Where, due to unforeseeable objective circumstances, the online trading platform operator is unable to provide the relevant services to the consumer in accordance with the original platform rules, and the consumer requests to terminate the membership service, the matter shall be handled in accordance with Article 14 of these Measures.
Chapter 6 Supervision and Administration
Article 33. The market regulation and cyberspace administration authorities shall, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, strengthen the supervision and administration of the activities of formulating, amending and enforcing platform rules, and shall establish and improve working mechanisms such as the transfer of leads, information sharing, and joint consultation and analysis.
Where the market regulation and cyberspace administration authorities carry out supervision and administration activities in accordance with the law, the online trading platform operator shall cooperate, provide necessary data, technical support and assistance, and ensure the authenticity and accuracy of the data provided.
Article 34. Online trading platform operators are encouraged to establish a system of co-governance of platform rules by society, and to fully hear the opinions of all parties on platform rules through means such as consumer organizations, third-party institutions, and expert consultation and appraisal.
Article 35. Online trading platform operators are encouraged to release annual platform-rules compliance reports, conduct compliance self-assessments of the formulation, amendment and enforcement of platform rules, and accept supervision by society.
Online trading platform operators are encouraged to invite or entrust third-party institutions to issue external compliance assessment reports on platform rules.
Article 36. The market regulation and cyberspace administration authorities at or above the provincial level may, through means such as organizing expert review, put forward opinions on the formulation, amendment and enforcement of platform rules by online trading platform operators within their respective jurisdictions, provide timely feedback to the relevant online trading platform operators, and guide them in optimizing their mechanisms for formulating, amending and enforcing platform rules.
Article 37. When performing platform-rules supervision and administration duties in accordance with these Measures, the market regulation and cyberspace administration authorities shall ensure that administrative inspections are legally grounded, strictly regulated, fair and civilized, and precise and efficient, and shall avoid unnecessary interference with the normal business activities of online trading platform operators and in-platform operators.
Article 38. Where an online trading platform operator falls under any of the following circumstances in the course of formulating, amending and enforcing platform rules, the market regulation and cyberspace administration authorities may, in accordance with their respective responsibilities, hold an interview with the relevant person in charge, requiring the operator to explain the situation and take corrective measures:
(I) failing to adequately perform the statutory obligations relating to online trading;
(II) the occurrence of a major adverse public-opinion incident relating to online trading;
(III) the discovery, by the market regulation and cyberspace administration authorities in routine supervision and administration, of problems that may have a negative impact on the order of online trading;
(IV) failing to safeguard the lawful rights and interests of the parties concerned such as in-platform operators and consumers; or
(V) other circumstances under which an interview is necessary.
Chapter 7 Legal Liability
Article 39. Where an online trading platform operator commits any of the following acts, it shall be punished in accordance with Article 81 of the E-Commerce Law of the People’s Republic of China:
(I) failing to continuously publish, in a conspicuous position on the homepage of its website or application, the platform-rules information or a link identifier thereto, in violation of Article 7 of these Measures;
(II) failing to publicly solicit opinions as required, in violation of Article 10 of these Measures;
(III) failing to publicize the content of platform rules in advance within the prescribed time, in violation of the first paragraph of Article 12 of these Measures; or
(IV) where an in-platform operator does not accept the amended content of platform rules and requests to exit, impeding such exit by means such as setting unreasonable conditions, in violation of the first paragraph of Article 14 of these Measures.
Article 40. Where an online trading platform operator violates the second paragraph of Article 8, Article 11, the second paragraph of Article 14, Article 16, Article 20, Article 29, Article 30, or the first paragraph of Article 32 of these Measures, and laws and administrative regulations so provide, such provisions shall apply; where laws and administrative regulations do not so provide and the matter falls within the responsibilities of the market regulation authority, the market regulation authority shall order corrections within a time limit and may impose a fine of not less than RMB 10,000 but not more than RMB 100,000.
Article 41. Where an online trading platform operator violates Articles 23 through 26 of these Measures, and laws and administrative regulations so provide, such provisions shall apply; where laws and administrative regulations do not so provide and the matter falls within the responsibilities of the cyberspace administration authority, the cyberspace administration authority shall order corrections within a time limit and may impose a fine of not less than RMB 10,000 but not more than RMB 100,000.
Article 42. Where an online trading platform operator violates the first paragraph of Article 27 or the first paragraph of Article 28 of these Measures, it shall be punished in accordance with Article 82 of the E-Commerce Law of the People’s Republic of China.
Where an online trading platform operator violates the second paragraph of Article 27 of these Measures, it shall be punished in accordance with Article 30 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People’s Republic of China.
Where an online trading platform operator violates the second paragraph of Article 28 of these Measures, it shall be punished in accordance with Article 40 of the Price Law of the People’s Republic of China and Article 4 of the Provisions on Administrative Penalties for Price-Related Violations.
Article 43. Where an online trading platform operator violates Article 31 of these Measures, it shall be punished in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 56 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Consumers’ Rights and Interests.
Article 44. Where an online trading platform operator uses platform rules to engage in monopolistic conduct, it shall be punished in accordance with the Anti-Monopoly Law of the People’s Republic of China.
Article 45. After the market regulation authority makes a decision on administrative penalty against an online trading platform operator in accordance with these Measures, it shall, in accordance with the law, publicize the decision to society through the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System.
Chapter 8 Supplementary Provisions
Article 46. Where the supervision and administration of activities of formulating, amending and enforcing platform rules falls, in accordance with the law, within the responsibilities of other relevant authorities, such other relevant authorities shall handle it in accordance with the relevant provisions.
Article 47. These Measures shall come into force as of February 1, 2026.