China's State Administration for Market Regulation has imposed administrative penalties on seven e-commerce platforms over a series of "ghost takeaway" cases, totaling 3.6 billion yuan (HK$4.13 billion).
The regulator found that the seven platforms failed to meet their legal obligation to review the qualifications of food operators on their platforms, yet signed cooperative agreements with order-transfer platforms while knowingly or being aware that such order transfers infringed upon consumers' legitimate rights and interests, and failed to take the necessary measures.
The platforms involved include Pinduoduo, Meituan, JD.com, Douyin, Taobao Shangou, Taobao, and Tmall. The regulator has ordered the platforms to rectify their violations and suspend the addition of new cake shops for three to nine months. Additionally, the legal representatives and food safety directors of the seven platforms have been fined a total of around 19.69 million yuan.
"Ghost takeaways" refer to catering merchants listed on food delivery platforms but with no legitimate physical storefront, false business addresses, or fraudulent qualifications.
The regulator stated that upon launching the investigation, it immediately ordered the platforms to make corrections. The platforms have since removed all unapproved "ghost stores" and ceased their food delivery order-transfer collaborations with the relevant order-transfer platforms.
