Scanning the code to order food should not be a multiple choice question

Today, when consumers dine in restaurants, it is very common to scan the code to order food

When will the "traffic bundling" of merchants stop? In this regard, the China Consumers Association stated on March 25 that only providing scan code ordering is suspected of excessively collecting consumers’ personal information and infringing on consumers’ right to fair trade.

Scan code ordering hides mandatory attention and leads to doubts

"Scan the QR code to order food in the store

The fast and popular scan code ordering saves manpower for merchants and brings convenience to customers, but it also hides the trap of mandatory attention, which leads to discussions about excessive collection of information and the risk of information leakage

Ms.

Recently, a media sample surveyed 100 restaurants in a city, of which 72 restaurants provide scanning code ordering services

In Shenzhen, most restaurants in several business districts have launched the scan code ordering function

He Baomei, head of the Legal Department of the Shenzhen Consumer Council, said that local volunteers recently visited and investigated 260 stores in 36 large and medium-sized supermarkets and 26 chain catering brands.

At the same time, the Shenzhen Consumer Council conducted an online poll to investigate consumers' views on the issue of scanning QR codes.

"Why do I have to submit personal information when ordering a meal? Do merchants have the right to use the ordering link to collect personal information? How will this personal information be used after being collected? Is there any risk of information leakage?" Miss Zhang asked many consumers' concerns problem

"On the one hand, it saves personnel costs, and on the other hand, it avoids missing orders

According to Xiao Chen, a salesperson of an intelligent cash register system supplier, most restaurants currently choose user authorization to log in and follow the official account to enter the self-service ordering system

　　"The name, phone number, etc.

　　It is understood that due to the low threshold for development, there are many technology companies on the market that develop small programs for scanning and ordering food

　　A staff member of a technology company said that the company can quickly build a scanning code ordering system including apps, small programs, and public accounts.

　　Consumers may also be "painted" by businesses "inadvertently"

Scan code ordering involves customer choice and privacy

　　From mandatory attention to "user portrait", I wanted to have a quiet meal, but may be "secretly stared" by the merchant
.
Many people in the industry believe that many rights of consumers may be infringed
.

　　"If scanning the code to order food is the only way to order food, it will infringe on consumers' right to choose service methods,
" said Lv Xiaojing, a member of the China Consumers Association's lawyer group and a lawyer at Beijing Realizer Law Firm
.

　　Lv Xiaojing mentioned that Article 9 of the Consumer Rights Protection Law (hereinafter referred to as the "Consumer Law") stipulates that consumers have the right to choose goods or services independently
.
Consumers have the right to independently choose operators who provide commodities or services, independently choose commodity varieties or service methods, and independently decide to purchase or not to purchase any kind of commodity, and to accept or not to accept any kind of service
.
"When consumers buy goods or services, what kind of goods, which merchants and what kind of service methods they choose or not choose, and which ordering method consumers choose to use when they dine, are all consumers' legal right to choose
.
Restaurants If it operates in this way, it is suspected of violating the Consumer Law
.
”

　　Industry insiders pointed out that when "ordering food only after inputting information" became a "voluntary" transaction, it actually violated the wishes of customers and objectively violated consumers' right to choose
.
As one of the most basic consumptions, catering covers almost all consumers.
Recently, the signs of "information harvesting" brought about by scanning the code to order food, etc.
, urgently need to take measures to regulate it
.

　　The China Consumers Association stated on March 25 that only providing scan code ordering is suspected of excessively collecting consumers’ personal information and infringing on consumers’ right to fair trade.
Not providing on-site menus is detrimental to consumers’ right to know, and the application of new technologies should not become special.
Consumption obstacles of consumer groups
.

　　When consumers go to a restaurant to eat, it is not necessary to provide information unrelated to food and beverage consumption such as mobile phone number, birthday, name, geographic location, address book,
etc.
Some restaurants no longer provide manual ordering, requiring on-site dining consumers to pay attention to the official account or mini program first, and then scan the code to order food, thereby obtaining consumers' personal information, which not only violates the legal provisions of the law to collect and use personal information.
, the principle of legitimacy and necessity, and suspected of excessive collection of consumers' personal information
.
If it is not kept well, there is a risk of consumer personal information being leaked and lost
.

　　The restaurant operator does not provide manual ordering services, but only provides scanning code ordering, which not only violates business practices, but also enables on-site dining consumers to only follow or bind the operator's official account or mini-program, and passively authorize the operator to obtain it.
personal information
.
This practice is suspected of infringing on consumers' right to fair trade, and is a compulsory trade behavior for on-site dining consumers by setting unfair and unreasonable trade conditions
.

　　Consumers report that some restaurants do not provide on-site menus and dish prices to diners while only scanning the QR code to order.

.
The menu is an important reference for consumers' decision-making, and is directly related to whether to accept catering services.
Restaurants should provide an intuitive and checkable on-site menu for consumers to understand the dishes and prices, and decide whether to dine
.
The practice of not providing on-site menus and scanning the QR code before viewing the dishes and prices violates consumers' right to know
.

　　Due to the complexity of smartphone operation, scanning the code to order food is not universal
.
The elderly and minors often need the assistance of others to complete the scan code ordering process.
Their awareness of the potential risks behind "scan code" is relatively weak, and they are more likely to become victims of personal information leakage and even payment security issues
.
The application of new technologies should not become a tool to restrict consumers' rights, nor should it become a barrier to mass consumption
.

　　The relevant person in charge of the China Consumers Association said that catering industry organizations and catering operators should resist bad practices, put an end to illegal acts, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers with practical actions; relevant departments should urge catering enterprises to operate in accordance with the law, strengthen self-discipline, and severely investigate and punish consumers who violate the law.
Illegal acts of rights and interests, and promote the healthy, orderly and standardized development of the industry
.

　　Industry insiders pointed out that industry authorities should issue detailed rules for the management of QR code consumption in various industries as soon as possible, and establish a data security "boundary" for QR code consumption
.

　　In this regard, Liu Junhai, a professor at the Law School of Renmin University of China, believes that ordering food by scanning the QR code involves the customer's right of choice and privacy, and restaurants should not be compelled to pay attention to the official account and provide information when providing the QR code ordering service.
Some technology companies claim customer information.
Stored in the "cloud", but may still raise privacy concerns
.

　　In fact, around personal information security, top-level designs such as the Consumer Rights Protection Law, the Cybersecurity Law, and the Telecommunications Regulations have all been stipulated
.

　　Yu Gang, a lawyer from Guangdong Zhuojian Law Firm, said that behind the recent submission of the Personal Information Protection Law (draft) for deliberation, the methods and means of collecting personal information in the Internet age are hard to guard against
.
Merchants obtain consumers’ mobile phone numbers, address books, precise geographic locations, and other information unrelated to consumption, and are suspected of violating the Consumer Rights Protection Law, which stipulates that “operators shall collect and use consumers’ personal information in accordance with legal, legitimate, and necessary regulations.
principle"
.

　　Yu Gang and other legal experts suggested that industry authorities should formulate industry management rules in accordance with the principled provisions of the law, urge the catering and other industries to optimize services, strengthen industry norms, and at the same time establish a data security "boundary" for QR code consumption to broaden consumer infringement.
Complaint channel
.

 

(Comprehensive arrangement by Han Songyan)

　　"China Food News" (03 edition on March 29, 2021)
 

(Editor-in-charge: Han Songyan)