The State Administration for Market Regulation announced five typical cases of unfair competition in the field of artificial intelligence

To effectively guide business entities to operate in compliance with the law and maintain the healthy development of the artificial intelligence industry, the State Administration for Market Regulation announced today five typical cases of unfair competition in the field of artificial intelligence.

1. The Market Regulation Bureau of Chaoyang District, Beijing, investigates Beijing Aolande Information Technology Co., Ltd. for implementing confusion through the internet

Case Introduction

Beijing Aolande Information Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the party involved) promoted software named "DeepSeek Local Deployment Tool" (hereinafter referred to as the software in question) through its operated website, using the term "DeepSeek" and the official logo in multiple places on the webpage. At the same time, the party involved used bidding ranking methods to leverage the popularity of "DeepSeek" to gain an unfair competitive advantage and obtain improper benefits, while the party involved and the software development entity had no affiliation with the official operator of DeepSeek. They exploited user information barriers and "hitchhiked" on the term "DeepSeek" to earn traffic popularity.

Legal Basis and Penalty

The actions of the party involved violated Article 7, Paragraph 1, Items (3) and (5) of the "Interim Provisions on the Prohibition of Unfair Competition in the Internet" and Article 6, Item (3) of the "Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China" (2019 amendment). According to Article 33 of the "Interim Provisions on the Prohibition of Unfair Competition in the Internet" and Article 18, Paragraph 1 of the "Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China" (2019 amendment), the party involved is ordered to immediately cease illegal activities and, considering the circumstances of the case, a fine of 5,000 yuan is imposed.

Case Analysis

This case is the first instance of the market regulation department investigating the use of the internet to create confusion around DeepSeek. With the rapid development of China's digital economy and the iteration of information technology innovation, traditional unfair competition behaviors such as imitation confusion and false advertising have been innovated through internet technology and gradually extended into the field of artificial intelligence, hindering the healthy development of the industry. During the investigation of this case, the market regulation department kept pace with the times, paying attention to hot topics on the internet, promptly stopping the illegal activities of the party involved, and quickly handling the case as a warning to other illegal business entities. This formed a strong deterrent against illegal activities, continuously sending a strong signal to protect fair competition and demonstrating the responsibility and commitment of the market regulation department to govern for the people and maintain fair competition order.

2. The Market Regulation Bureau of Xuhui District, Shanghai, investigates Shanghai Entropy Cloud Network Technology Co., Ltd. for implementing confusion through the internet

Case Introduction

Shanghai Entropy Cloud Network Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the party involved) developed and operated a WeChat public account named "ChatGPT Online," which includes AI dialogue functions and profits by attracting registered paid members. Upon investigation, "ChatGPT" is a product developed by the American artificial intelligence research company OpenAI. The AI dialogue service provided by the party involved actually calls the open application programming interface of OpenAI, connecting to its underlying model to provide services similar to "ChatGPT," rather than the "ChatGPT" product itself. The party involved also used a pattern highly similar to the official image of the company as the avatar of the WeChat public account and introduced it as the "Chinese version of ChatGPT" in the public account description, causing confusion with "ChatGPT." Legal Basis and Penalty

The behavior of the parties involved violated Article 6, Item 4 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China (revised in 2019). According to Article 18, Paragraph 1 of this law, the parties are ordered to cease illegal activities, and considering the circumstances of the case, a fine of 62,692.7 yuan is imposed.

Case Analysis

This case involves commercial confusion in the field of artificial intelligence. In this case, the parties were fully aware of the status and influence of "ChatGPT" developed by OpenAI in the industry. They used similar images, names, and services to indirectly attach themselves to trending topics, deliberately creating the illusion of providing services as "ChatGPT Chinese Version," confusing the real situation to gain trading opportunities, leading consumers to mistakenly purchase. Their actions not only gained unfair competitive benefits but also harmed the legitimate rights and interests of consumers. The investigation and handling of this case aim to serve as a warning against confusion behavior, guiding operators to enhance competitiveness through legal and compliant means, avoiding the acquisition of benefits through improper means such as attaching to others' reputation, and ensuring fairness and justice in market competition.

III. Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision Administration Investigates Shanghai Qiaopin Network Information Technology Co., Ltd. for Assisting in False Advertising Case

Case Introduction

Shanghai Qiaopin Network Information Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the parties) mainly engages in the sales and operation maintenance of the "Douxing Intelligent" robot voice AI outbound software. This software can automatically dial phone calls using pre-set speech templates through artificial intelligence technology and analyze the content of the calls to filter potential quality consumers for users. It was found that the parties, knowing that multiple loan intermediary companies are non-bank institutions and have no cooperative relationship or specific contact with banks, and are not providing free loan agency services, assisted the aforementioned users in using the "Douxing Intelligent" software to make voice calls under the name of banking institutions or using free loan agency speech templates to promote intermediary services.

Legal Basis and Penalty

The behavior of the parties violated Article 8, Paragraph 2 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China (revised in 2019). According to Article 30, Paragraph 1 of this law, the parties are ordered to cease illegal activities and fined 200,000 yuan.

Case Analysis

Artificial intelligence technology has brought convenience to work and life; however, some unscrupulous businesses have also used this technology as a tool for illegal activities. In this case, the parties assisted loan intermediary companies in using artificial intelligence software to promote using speech templates containing false content, which is misleading and easily gains the trust of relevant consumers, seriously infringing on consumers' legitimate rights and interests. Regulating the use of artificial intelligence technology is not only a necessary requirement to protect consumers' legitimate rights and interests and maintain fair market competition but also a key to promoting the integration of artificial intelligence technology into the consumer market. The investigation and handling of this case warn operators to strictly comply with laws and regulations and operate with integrity. Whether as providers or users of AI technology, they should apply AI technology reasonably, while also reminding consumers to be vigilant and avoid being deceived.

IV. Hangzhou Municipal Market Supervision Administration Investigates Min Certain for Infringing Commercial Secrets Case

Case Introduction

Min Moumou (hereinafter referred to as the party) is a development engineer at a certain computing company and has signed a relevant confidentiality agreement with the company, responsible for the research and development of artificial intelligence big data products. On August 21, 2024, the party, at their residence, used a work key to log into the company's test server via a personal desktop computer and unlawfully downloaded files totaling 15.88GB, which included complete code for data algorithm technology and other big data. The company had taken confidentiality measures for the aforementioned files, which were identified as trade secrets.

Legal Basis and Penalty

The party's actions violated Article 9, Paragraph 1, Item (1) and Paragraph 2 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China (revised in 2019). According to Article 21 of this law, the party is ordered to cease the illegal activities and fined 360,000 yuan.

Case Analysis

Trade secrets are the crystallization of a company's technological innovation and an important asset for maintaining competitive advantage. In this case, the algorithm, as a trade secret, determines how the artificial intelligence model processes data and its level of intelligence. The correct algorithm direction is the fundamental guarantee of the effectiveness of artificial intelligence and is the core competitiveness of the enterprise. The investigation and handling of this case not only strongly deterred the use of technical means to infringe on trade secrets but also demonstrated the determination of market regulatory authorities to protect the innovative achievements of enterprises and maintain the healthy development of the artificial intelligence industry.

V. Hangzhou West Lake District Market Supervision Administration's Investigation of Hangzhou Boheng Media Culture Co., Ltd. for Confusion via the Internet

Case Introduction

Hangzhou Boheng Media Culture Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the party) established a "DeepSeek" locally deployed website and induced users to pay for use. On the aforementioned self-built website, the party used wording identical to that of the official DeepSeek without authorization and employed highly similar icons for external promotion. The overall page design, wording "DeepSeek Local Deployment Tool," icons, and other content were highly similar to the official DeepSeek website. The party's actions constituted confusion, misleading users to believe there was a specific connection with the official DeepSeek.

Legal Basis and Penalty

The party's actions violated Article 7, Paragraph 1, Item (3) of the Interim Provisions on Anti-Unfair Competition in the Internet and Article 6, Item (3) of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China (revised in 2019). According to Article 33 of the Interim Provisions on Anti-Unfair Competition in the Internet and Article 18, Paragraph 1 of the Anti-Unfair Competition Law of the People's Republic of China (revised in 2019), the party is ordered to immediately cease illegal activities and, considering the circumstances of the case, fined 30,000 yuan.

Case Analysis

In early 2025, a large number of counterfeit DeepSeek mini-programs, websites, etc., emerged in the market, involving various illegal activities such as confusion, trademark infringement, and false advertising. In this case, the party used a self-built website to confuse DeepSeek, which was simple and quick to set up and operate, with a wide dissemination range, easily attracting a large number of users in a short time, causing significant social harm and negatively impacting the DeepSeek brand image. The investigation and handling of this case not only deterred illegal businesses but also maintained public trust and expectations for domestic technology, while also helping to guide the artificial intelligence market towards standardized and orderly development Risk Warning and Disclaimer

The market has risks, and investment should be cautious. This article does not constitute personal investment advice and does not take into account the specific investment goals, financial situation, or needs of individual users. Users should consider whether any opinions, views, or conclusions in this article align with their specific circumstances. Investment based on this is at one's own risk