Inducing high consumption, easy recharge and difficult refund; After recharging, the content shrinks, and dramas are randomly taken down. Micro dramas are a new trend in entertainment consumption, and payment chaos needs to be regulated. In recent years, the micro drama industry has emerged as a new trend in entertainment consumption, and the number of paying users continues to increase. However, with the rapid popularity of micro dramas and the increasing number of paying users, problems such as inducing high consumption, difficulty in refunding, and frequent content shrinkage after recharging have emerged. In recent years, China's online micro drama industry has emerged as a rising force, with characteristics such as short duration, fast pace, multiple types, and ups and downs in plot, quickly becoming a new trend in entertainment consumption both domestically and internationally. However, interviews with reporters have found that the micro drama industry also faces problems such as inducing high consumption, difficulty in refunding fees, lack of transparency in charging prices, frequent content shrinkage after recharging, and evading regulatory review and filing. With the arrival of the digital era and the continuous development of Internet applications, the number of Internet users in China has been increasing, and the number of users of micro skits has also continued to expand. On August 29, the 54th Statistical Report on the Development of Internet in China released by China Internet Network Information Center showed that as of June this year, the number of Internet users in China had reached nearly 1.1 billion, of which 52.4% were micro drama users. The continuous growth of micro drama users has also attracted major capital to join the game. Short video platforms have become the main battlefield for playing short dramas, and long video platforms have also made efforts to actively layout the field of short dramas. According to relevant data, the market size of Chinese micro dramas will reach 37.39 billion yuan in 2023, and it is expected to exceed 50 billion yuan by 2024. From popular dramas such as "Escape from the British Museum" to boutique short dramas focusing on anti fraud and cultural tourism integration such as "I am a Hunter" and "Food Knocks on the Door", and then to short dramas loved by middle-aged and elderly people such as "Flash Marriage Couple is a Rich Family", the development of the micro drama industry is showing a diversified trend. Many short dramas require paid viewing. The survey report on problematic consumption in the field of micro dramas recently released by the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Commission shows that among the group who have watched micro dramas, over 60% (66.68%) of consumers have paid to watch them, and more than 30% (33.32%) of consumers have no payment experience. The consumption habit of consumers willing to pay for cultural products has gradually formed. With the rapid popularity of micro dramas and the increasing number of paying users, there are also ongoing consumer disputes related to the lack of transparency in charging prices. The investigation by the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Commission found that the micro drama industry has problems such as unclear charging standards and lack of transparency in prices. The recharge mode for micro short dramas includes both charging based on the number of episodes and paying a certain amount of virtual currency per episode. Recharging virtual currencies can easily lead to opaque prices and affect the consumer experience. A survey conducted by the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Commission found that although some viewing channels explicitly state the required virtual currency for a single episode, on the one hand, the font size is small, and on the other hand, the total required virtual currency for the entire drama is not explicitly stated. Consumers, especially elderly consumers, cannot easily and clearly know the number of episodes that can be unlocked by recharging, and are prone to falling into the trap of repeated recharging and recharging. When watching short dramas on mini programs or apps, platforms often provide membership services. An investigation by the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Commission found that consumers have prominent problems with automatic renewal when opening membership services, such as not being reminded of deductions. The membership service agreement includes an automatic renewal clause, and consumers must accept the automatic renewal when opening membership services, which may be considered as mandatory consumption. The reminder work before the automatic renewal expiration of some micro drama apps has not been implemented properly. In addition, the industry also faces problems such as high charging prices, easy recharging, and difficult refunds. According to a survey conducted by the Jiangsu Consumer Protection Commission, all platforms that recharge virtual currency are marked with small characters stating "Virtual products, once purchased, cannot be returned or exchanged" and "Member services do not support returns or exchanges without reason". In addition, it is difficult for consumers to successfully claim refunds by claiming that they no longer need membership services after recharging their membership. However, some micro dramas have been taken down arbitrarily, resulting in users being unable to enjoy membership services normally. The investigators also found that the payment agreement or instructions did not specify the "refund" situation in advance, making it difficult for consumers to claim refunds. It is worth mentioning that some micro dramas often experience content shrinkage, shortened episodes, and members having no new episodes to watch after consumers recharge. Multiple measures have been taken to promote the standardized development of the industry. The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television previously issued the "Latest Work Tips on the Filing of Micro Dramas", which clearly stated that from June 1st this year, micro dramas that have not been reviewed and filed shall not be disseminated online. However, an investigation by the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Commission found that there are still two major irregularities in the registration of micro dramas on major platforms: one is that some dramas do not have a registration number; The second issue is that the registration numbers for the same drama are inconsistent. Industry insiders say that the best thing about micro dramas is that they become shorter in length and smaller in size. According to regulatory requirements, different micro dramas are reviewed according to their total investment amount, classified and layered: key micro dramas with an investment amount of more than 1 million yuan are reviewed by the State Administration of Radio, Television and Radio, ordinary micro dramas with an investment amount of 300000 yuan to 1 million yuan are reviewed by provincial radio and television departments, and other micro dramas with an investment amount of less than 300000 yuan are subject to content management responsibilities by online audiovisual platforms that broadcast or promote them. The industry insider stated that establishing a graded filing system is conducive to strengthening industry supervision, but it is also necessary to be vigilant about the situation where large investments are segmented into smaller areas and detached from supervision. For example, some micro dramas originally had an investment of 1 million yuan, but were divided into three to four dramas or turned into an IP series to evade regulatory review and filing. Based on the investigation of the micro drama industry and the consumer demand and willingness for industry development, the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Commission suggests that the charging model should be unified to eliminate the chaos in the micro drama consumption field; Clear pricing should be implemented, price fraud should be prohibited, and consumers should be able to consume clearly. At present, the paid recharge of micro dramas still faces problems such as inability to refund or no way to refund. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a complete refund process and smooth the refund channels for consumers. In addition, the platform should strictly implement its main responsibility, strengthen the supervision of accounts within the platform, and actively resolve disputes between merchants and consumers. In terms of strengthening the filing review, the Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Commission suggests that the platform filing rules should be improved and the review mechanism should be standardized. Major online platforms should establish a comprehensive platform review system, increase scrutiny and supervision of accounts and other content within the platform, effectively fulfill the platform's main responsibilities, and control the entire process to prevent the filing work from becoming a formality. The Jiangsu Provincial Consumer Protection Commission also suggested that the platform open a payment model for the elderly to solve the problem of impulsive consumption among digitally disadvantaged groups. We can establish a senior citizen anti addiction mode through multiple reminders, large or prominent signage, and setting payment limits to ensure that elderly consumers enjoy the convenience brought by digitalization while reducing the risks of impulsive consumption. (New Society)