中国的移动互联网广告违法现象相当严重

如果你看不懂，这里有译文啊

https://www.toutiao.com/article/7505752025208979987/?log_from=8af554a5b6dcc8_1747570038120

# The Outrageous State of Android Ads in China: A Comprehensive Analysis

## Introduction

In China's mobile internet ecosystem, Android advertising has evolved into a digital disaster that has provoked widespread public anger. From forced pop-ups to covert inducements, from privacy violations to false advertising, the chaos surrounding Android platform ads not only severely damages user experience but also threatens personal information security and national data sovereignty. This article systematically analyzes the current state, root causes, user impact, regulatory challenges, and potential solutions to this digital-era "chronic problem," revealing the complex profit chains and governance dilemmas behind it.

## Current Situation and Characteristics of Android Ad Chaos

The advertising chaos in China's Android ecosystem has reached alarming levels, manifesting in various aggressive forms. Splash ads are among the most criticized—data shows that after analyzing 600 mobile apps, 58% displayed pop-up ads, with 69.7% lacking a "close button." These "screen-hijacking" ads not only forcibly occupy users' attention but also trick them into clicking through carefully designed interfaces—some make the close button minuscule and blend it into the background, while others feature fake "skip" buttons that actually redirect to ad pages.

Even worse is the proliferation of "shake-to-skip" ads. These ads exploit smartphones' built-in gyroscopes and accelerometers, triggering automatic redirects to e-commerce platforms or download pages with the slightest movement—whether from walking vibrations or slight bumps during a ride. Although the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) has collaborated with industry players to establish technical standards for "shake-to-skip" ads (requiring device acceleration ≥15m/s² and rotation angle ≥35°), the lack of enforcement means many apps continue to abuse this feature.

Privacy-invasive ads represent another major issue. After browsing products on an e-commerce app, users mysteriously receive targeted ads for similar products on other platforms—a practice enabled by the rampant collection and misuse of personal data. Liu Quan, Director of the Cybersecurity Research Institute at the China Center for Information Industry Development, notes: "When users click on a certain type of ad in one app, they receive numerous similar ads in others—this violates privacy rights." Such data sharing often occurs without explicit user consent, flouting basic requirements of China's *Personal Information Protection Law*.

Deceptive ads directly challenge legal boundaries. Some apps display fake alerts like "Memory full, clean now," "Battery overheating, cool down immediately," or "You have a 100-yuan phone credit, claim now"—using text, images, or videos to lure clicks, only to push unverified products or even illegal content. Ning Hua, Director of Information Security at the CAICT's Telecom Terminal Labs, states these ads "seriously violate consumers' right to safety."

Ad saturation has reached absurd levels. On platforms like Douyin (TikTok's Chinese counterpart) and Kuaishou, every 3-5 short videos includes an ad; on news aggregators like Jinri Toutiao, roughly 20% of recommended content consists of ads. Most apps only offer options to "reduce ad relevance" rather than "reduce ad quantity"—meaning users get the same volume of ads, just less targeted.

*Table: Major Types of Android Ad Malpractices in China*

| **Ad Type**               | **Key Features**                                      | **Harm Level** | **Prevalence**          |
|---------------------------|------------------------------------------------------|----------------|-------------------------|
| **Screen-hijacking ads**  | Hard-to-find close buttons, forced viewing           | High           | Extremely common (58% apps) |
| **"Shake-to-skip" ads**   | Uses sensors, slight movement triggers redirect      | High           | Common (e-commerce/video apps) |
| **Privacy-invasive ads**  | Cross-platform targeting, data misuse                | Extreme        | Ubiquitous (major platforms) |
| **Deceptive ads**         | Fake system alerts, manipulative designs             | Extreme        | Common (utility apps)   |
| **Native/disguised ads**  | Blended with content, hard to distinguish            | Medium         | Universal (all platforms) |

This ad ecosystem has created a vicious cycle: platforms increase ad aggression to boost revenue → users reduce engagement due to poor experience → platforms further increase ads to compensate → overall mobile internet environment deteriorates. As telecom expert Xiang Ligang observes: "For many apps—especially free ones—ad revenue is their core income source." But when this model becomes extreme, it "kills the goose that lays the golden eggs," ultimately harming industry sustainability.

## Root Causes: Profit Motives and Systemic Issues

### The "Last Resort" of Monetization

China's internet sector has transitioned from growth to saturation, forcing platforms to squeeze more ad revenue from existing users. Ning Hua explains: "App ads typically charge by click-through/ conversion rates, incentivizing malicious tactics to inflate impressions, clicks, and installs." Performance-based pricing drives platforms to artificially boost metrics—even at users' expense.

Deeper still lies China's internet profit model crisis. Unlike global tech giants diversifying into cloud computing, enterprise services, or hardware, Chinese firms rely overwhelmingly on ads—some deriving >80% of revenue from them. With capital markets demanding growth, companies sacrifice user experience to meet targets.

### Ad Networks and Data Black Markets

Hundreds of small-to-medium ad platforms (e.g., Domob, Woqu, Yimedia) act as middlemen between developers and advertisers, lowering standards to compete. An insider reveals: "Advertisers who buy from Baidu must buy mobile ads too"—a bundling strategy forcing acceptance of low-quality traffic.

Data black markets fuel precision ads. Illegal scraping/trading builds profiles of millions, enabling hyper-targeting. Liu Quan urges authorities to "use tech to identify commercial behaviors leveraging data analysis for ad targeting." But such precision often relies on privacy violations, creating eerie "I just searched this, now every app shows it" scenarios.

### Platform Evasion and Regulatory Arbitrage

Complex redirect chains let platforms obscure accountability. Liu Quan notes: "Some apps embed 'purchase links' in images/videos that jump to third-party pages, helping them evade responsibility." When issues arise, users struggle to identify liable parties.

"Regulatory arbitrage" exploits loopholes. Using remote subsidiaries or CDN switches, companies avoid strict enforcement in key regions. Large internet groups operate hundreds of apps—when one gets penalized, others continue unchanged. This "whack-a-mole" evasion undermines governance.

### Collapse of Business Ethics

The chaos reflects systemic erosion of commercial ethics. Under "growth-at-all-costs" values, long-term considerations like user experience and privacy are discarded. An ad executive admits: "Prices are nonsense—some claim 1 yuan per CPA but cheat on volumes. Basically all platforms cheat." This "race to the bottom" has become endemic.

While industry groups draft voluntary standards like the *APP Start Screen Ad Behavior Guidelines*, such self-regulation crumbles against profit motives. When entire sectors depend on violating user rights, moral appeals alone cannot reform—structural interventions are essential.

## Multidimensional Harms

### User Rights Under Siege

- **Hijacked choice**: 69.7% of pop-ups lack working close buttons (Shanghai Consumer Council data), violating basic consumer rights.
- **Privacy erosion**: Cross-app tracking creates a "black hole" where personal data is endlessly replicated/shared without consent.
- **Safety/financial risks**: Fake "virus alert" or "battery overheating" prompts push dubious products—some health ads peddle "cancer-curing miracles" with lethal consequences.

### Social Trust Erosion

Medical ad fraud is particularly dangerous. Regulators report absurd claims like "ancestral secrets cure all"—ridiculed by youth but ensnaring elders. In the "Yaowang Valley" incident, 15 patients died after taking "80%-effective anti-cancer" pills advertised widely.

New scams like "7-day AI courses earn $1,600/month" or "My mom made $16k/month without appearing on videos" use big data to target vulnerable groups, eroding digital trust.

### Market Distortions

- **Bad drives out good**: Ethical players lose market share to aggressive advertisers.
- **Data fraud**: "All platforms cheat on volumes" (ad insider). Banner click-through rates have plummeted to 0.1-0.5%, mostly accidental—wasting advertisers' budgets.
- **Stifled innovation**: Easy ad profits kill incentives for real value creation, breeding homogenized, low-quality apps.

### Governance Challenges

Despite crackdowns—like the 2021 campaign reducing "unclosable" splash ads from 69% to 1%—problems resurge cyclically. Liu Quan acknowledges: "Some apps show a 'violate-govern-repeat' pattern."

A Shanghai court case fined a company just 10,000 yuan for forcibly playing ads by monitoring user activities (e.g., unlocking, charging)—peanuts compared to profits. Such weak penalties breed "lawlessness" mentalities.

## Solutions: Toward Sustainable Digital Advertising

### Legal Upgrades

- **Stiffer penalties**: EU-style fines up to 4% of global revenue (GDPR model).
- **Strict liability**: Platforms liable for unmarked/misleading ads.
- **Class actions**: Empower consumer groups to sue en masse.

### Tech-Enabled Governance

- **National ad monitoring**: Real-time tracking via AI/big data (China's system already scans 3M daily ads).
- **Digital watermarking**: Mandate immutable ad identifiers (CAID pilot ongoing).
- **User tools**: Promote ad blockers; certify "clean" apps.

### Business Model Shifts

- **Paid ad-free options**: Proven by iQiyi/Tencent Video—expand to utility apps.
- **Value redistribution**: Brave browser-style crypto rewards for ad attention.
- **Diversification**: Tax incentives for non-ad revenue (e.g., knowledge payments, B2B services).

### Collaborative Governance

- **One-click reporting**: National unified complaint platform.
- **Industry blacklists**: Cross-platform bans for repeat offenders.
- **Public education**: Teach ad fraud recognition (Shanghai's "Smartphone Ad Guide" pilot works).

## Conclusion: Rebalancing Digital Ecosystems

China's Android ad chaos mirrors deeper tensions—profit vs. rights, innovation vs. ethics, short-term gains vs. sustainable growth. International models (EU's GDPR/DSA, California's CCPA, Brazil's Internet Civil Rights) show strict but balanced regulation is possible.

For China, cleaning up ads aligns with "Digital China" and "Cyberpower" visions—impacting hundreds of millions while shaping economic quality. As a CAC official states: "Ad governance isn't just about consumer rights; it's vital for high-quality digital growth."

Future efforts must uphold:
1. **User sovereignty**: Control and transparency over ads.
2. **Clear accountability**: Platforms must own their ad ecosystems.
3. **Innovation-friendly**: Avoid overkill that stifles progress.

This is a marathon requiring lawmakers, regulators, firms, and users to collaborate. Only systemic reform—combining laws, tech, self-discipline, and public oversight—can transform today's "outrageous" landscape into one where mobile internet truly empowers rather than exploits. The outcome will profoundly influence China's digital civilization trajectory.