Alibaba platforms most commonly involved in legal disputes, Beijing e-shoppers most litigious

Online shopping legal disputes rose 42% in 2017, according to data released by the Supreme People’s Court. Beijing residents were the most likely to take their case to court, Alibaba platforms were involved in 18% of cases and 18-29 year olds made up almost half of all plaintiffs (in Chinese).

The data covers disputes from all levels of court across the country between January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017. In 2015, 2,422 cases were brought, rising 285% to 9,328 cases in 2016 and another 41.93% in 2017 to around 13,200 cases.

The organization with the most disputes brought to court was Alibaba with its Tmall and Taobao platforms. 17.92% of cases were brought against sellers on these sites. Of those bringing cases, 99.2% were individuals and 84.6% of defendants were individuals.

What you get

Full access to all premium content and our full archives

Members'-only newsletters

Preferential access and discounts to all TechNode events

Direct access to the TechNode newsroom