McDonald's new 'Roujiamo' product has drawn criticism for the significant discrepancy between its actual appearance and promotional images. How should we view this product failure? Is it possible that the item will be taken off the market?

I. The promotion of the 'Fully Meat Roujiamo' meets the definition of 'fraud' under the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law. The former State Administration for Industry and Commerce's Measures for Punishing Acts Infringing upon Consumer Rights and Interests defines 'fraud' in the context of consumer protection as conduct that 'misleads consumers' or 'exaggerates quality.' Measures for Punishing Acts Infringing upon Consumer Rights and Interests Article 6: Operators shall provide consumers with truthful, comprehensive, and accurate information regarding goods or services, and shall not engage in any of the following false or misleading promotional practices: (ii) Selling goods or services by means of false or misleading product descriptions, product standards, or physical samples; (viii) Misleading consumers by exaggerating or concealing information—such as quantity, quality, or performance of goods or services—that is materially significant to consumers. Article 16, Paragraph 2: Operators committing acts listed in… Article 6… of these Measures constitute fraudulent behavior. The 'Fully Meat Roujiamo' promotion implicitly conveys a certain quality standard to consumers, sufficient to mislead them—and thus satisfies the above definition of fraud. Under the Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law, McDonald’s bears not only civil liability—including refunding the purchase price plus triple compensation—but also administrative liabilities such as warnings, confiscation of illegal gains, and fines ranging from one to ten times the amount of illegal gains (or up to RMB 500,000 if no illegal gains exist). In serious cases, operators may face suspension of operations or revocation of business licenses. Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law Article 56: Where operators commit any of the following acts, in addition to bearing corresponding civil liabilities… they may, depending on circumstances, be separately or concurrently subject to warnings, confiscation of illegal gains, and fines of one to ten times the amount of illegal gains; where no illegal gains exist, fines of up to RMB 500,000 may be imposed; in serious cases, they may be ordered to suspend operations for rectification or have their business licenses revoked: (vi) Making false or misleading representations concerning goods or services.

As a university student preparing for an upcoming Economic Law final exam, I’d like to ask: Does McDonald’s roujiamo issue constitute false advertising?

Huh—great question. Both my parents are Economic Law professors, and I myself study Economics. I asked my dad about this—he said it’s quite difficult to determine definitively. In theory, stating 'subject to actual product' could shield McDonald’s from liability, rendering the case not false advertising. In practice, however, one could still file a lawsuit alleging that McDonald’s engaged in exaggerated advertising—and might even secure some compensation. This also reminds me of Japan’s strict labeling regulations for fruit juice packaging… Different minimum percentages of fruit content trigger distinct packaging requirements… Clearly, such legal specificity remains absent in our own regulatory framework. Yet even in the U.S.—where McDonald’s and Burger King are famously notorious for 'false advertising'—we rarely see lawsuits or massive compensation awards reported in the news. That very absence likely emboldens such corporations to continue their current practices with impunity.

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