According to the official website of Shanghai’s Songjiang District People’s Government, recently, Xiao Li, a student of East China University of Political Science and Law, sued Beijing Cheetah Mobile Technology Co., Ltd. (the main body of the development and operation of Kingsoft Internet Security Software, hereinafter referred to as “Cheetah Mobile”) in a dispute over network infringement liability was concluded. After the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court presided over the mediation, the defendant paid the plaintiff 700 yuan in compensation.
It is reported that at the end of 2018, when Xiao Li used his laptop to log in to the Cheetah Mobile official website and followed the instructions to download the Kingsoft Internet Security software, he was bundled with two software, Cheetah Eye Care Master and Software Manager. These software occupies a lot of computer memory, slows down the computer's operating speed, and pops up some advertisements from time to time, which seriously affects her use of the computer for study and work. Xiao Li believes that when he downloaded Kingsoft Internet Security, he was not clearly told to bundle other software and that this behavior had violated his right to know and the right to choose, so he sued Cheetah Mobile to the Changning Court.
After arriving in court, the defendant argued: "Cheetah Eye Care Master and Software Manager are not bundled software, but are built-in functional modules of Kingsoft Internet Security. They are part of Kingsoft Internet Security's products. They are designed to provide users with more practical and convenient functions. Setting; when the defendant provided the download service, the introduction of the software was posted on the official website. The plaintiff himself had faults that had not been read in advance, so the defendant did not infringe the user’s right to know and the right to choose; As for the act of pushing advertisements, Because Kingsoft Internet Security is a software that users can download for free, its operation requires a certain cost and conforms to the industry practice of free Internet products."
During the trial, both parties had no objection to the Kingsoft Internet Security product download process and page display. Xiao Rui learned that the court held that the focus of the dispute in this case was: Is there any situation in which Kingsoft Internet Security products are bundled with other software? If there is a bundled installation, does it constitute an infringement of the original right of notification and the right of independent choice?
According to the statements of the two parties and the evidence confirmed by the review, and after a demonstration in court to download and install the Kingsoft Internet Security software, the court found that: when consumers choose to download the Kingsoft Internet Security software, they must simultaneously download and install the "eye protection mode" and "software manager" ", and these two software cannot be uninstalled independently. Therefore, the court held that both the "eye protection model" and the "software housekeeper" have the independence as terminal software, rather than a necessary component of Kingsoft Internet Security software, and conform to the characteristics of bundled software.
When downloading and installing, the defendant did not provide consumers with the option of "only using anti-virus software", nor did they inform and prompt in a reasonable manner in advance. As for the defendant’s claim that the "Guide to the use of Kingsoft Internet Security Eye Care Mode" has been displayed on the download page, after review, the content of the display is under the "Product News" column at the bottom of the page, independent of the Kingsoft Internet Security product download module, and objectively insufficient Let consumers pay attention to this content, and it is even more difficult to clearly know the connection that the product will be downloaded together with Kingsoft Internet Security products; and the introduction of "Software Manager" needs to be clicked on the "Kingsoft Internet Security Eye Care Mode User Guide". Obviously, it is difficult to attract the attention of ordinary consumers. Therefore, the court held that the defendant failed to protect the plaintiff’s right to know in the process of providing the software download service involved; if the right to know was not protected, consumers would obviously not be able to make a truly autonomous choice without knowing it.
The Changning Court supported part of the plaintiff's claim and made a first-instance judgment on May 22 this year: the defendant Beijing Cheetah Mobile Technology Co., Ltd. paid the plaintiff Xiao Li 500 yuan (including 344.8 yuan for transportation). Later, the defendant refused to accept the above judgment and appealed to the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court. In the end, Cheetah Mobile stated that it agreed to add another 200 yuan to the compensation in the first instance judgment and pay Xiao Li 700 yuan. On August 28, the case was closed by mediation.
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