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新型“鬼秤”?多平台广告“偷时间”,律师提醒......
Huan Qiu Wang Zi Xun·2025-09-10 06:38

Core Viewpoint - Recent reports indicate that certain long video platforms are misleading users by extending the actual advertisement playback time beyond what is displayed, leading to a phenomenon referred to as "time theft" [1][2][4]. Group 1: Advertising Practices - Users have discovered that platforms like Youku, Mango TV, and iQIYI have discrepancies between the advertised and actual ad durations, with examples showing ads marked as 119 seconds actually playing for 123 seconds, resulting in a 4-second discrepancy [2][4]. - Mango TV acknowledged that the extended ad duration is due to the time required for loading and buffering multiple video ads, claiming that the ad duration is aligned with the actual content [5]. Group 2: Legal Implications - Legal experts suggest that the practice of misleading countdowns may constitute fraud, violating consumer rights as outlined in the Advertising Law and Consumer Rights Protection Law of China [7][8]. - The misleading nature of the countdowns infringes on consumers' right to know the true duration of advertisements, potentially leading to uninformed purchasing decisions [8]. Group 3: Industry Response and Consumer Sentiment - There is a growing sentiment among users that many platforms are engaging in similar misleading practices, with some ads showing discrepancies of around 1 second, which are often difficult for consumers to detect [5]. - Commentary from media outlets highlights that these practices not only harm user rights but also threaten the long-term credibility of video platforms in a highly competitive market [9][10].