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China's Advertising Law: The 9 Categories of Prohibited Words That Can Shut Down Your Business

#china #advertising #compliance #legal

China's Advertising Law: The 9 Categories of Prohibited Words That Can Shut Down Your Business

A Single Word Can Cost You ¥200,000

In 2024, a Chinese e-commerce seller used "全网最低价" (lowest price on the internet) in their product title. The market supervision bureau fined them ¥200,000 under China's Advertising Law Article 9.

One word. ¥200,000 fine. Product delisted. Seller account penalized.

This is not unusual. China's Advertising Law is one of the most strictly enforced in the world, and the penalties are severe.

The 9 Categories of Prohibited Words

1. Absolute Claims (绝对化用语)

Prohibited: 最, 第一, 唯一, 顶级, 极品, 100%, 绝不, 首选

Examples:

  • ❌ "最好" (best) → Article 9, Item 3
  • ❌ "销量第一" (sales #1) → Article 9, Item 3
  • ❌ "唯一选择" (only choice) → Article 9, Item 3

Sneaky variants that are ALSO illegal:

  • ❌ "遥遥领先" (far ahead) → implies #1
  • ❌ "行业标杆" (industry benchmark) → implies top
  • ❌ "零差评" (zero negative reviews) → implies absolute

2. Authority Claims (权威性暗示)

Prohibited: 国家级, 特供, 专供, 免检

  • ❌ "国家级认证" → Article 9, Item 2
  • ❌ "特供产品" → Article 9, Item 2

3. False Promises (虚假承诺)

Prohibited: 包治百病, 零风险, 100%有效

4. Inducement Without Basis

Prohibited: 限时仅剩, 立即抢购 (without real basis)

5-9. Superstitious, Discriminatory, Environmental, Patent Without Number, Fabricated Honors

Each category has specific prohibited terms and legal citations (see the skill for full details).

Category-Specific Restrictions: The Hidden Traps

Healthcare/Pharmaceuticals

  • ❌ Cannot mention cure rates or effectiveness rates
  • ❌ Cannot use doctor or hospital endorsements
  • ❌ Prescription drugs: NO advertising in mass media

Health Supplements

  • ❌ Cannot claim treatment functions
  • ✅ MUST include: "本品不能代替药物"

Finance/Investment

  • ❌ Cannot promise returns
  • ✅ MUST include risk warning

Cosmetics

  • ❌ Cannot claim medical effects
  • ❌ "药妆" → prohibited term

Education

  • ❌ Cannot promise pass rates

Real Estate

  • ❌ Cannot promise value appreciation
  • ❌ Must state both gross and net area

The New Rules: Live Streaming & Social Media

Live Streaming

  • Must clearly mark content as advertising
  • Streamers must have actually used the product

Seeding/Soft Ads

  • ✅ MUST mark as "广告" or "推广"
  • ❌ Unmarked paid recommendations → violation

How to Check Your Content 

clawhub install cn-advertising-compliance
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This OpenClaw skill runs a 4-step compliance check on any advertising copy, product description, or marketing material:

  1. Prohibited word screening — scans for all 9 categories
  2. Category-specific restrictions — checks based on your product type
  3. Format compliance — verifies advertising labels, endorsement rules
  4. Platform requirements — checks against specific platform rules

The Full Compliance Suite

  • cn-business-compliance-check — General China legal compliance
  • cn-ecommerce-compliance — Cross-border e-commerce compliance
  • cn-advertising-compliance — China advertising law compliance 
clawhub install cn-business-compliance-check
clawhub install cn-ecommerce-compliance
clawhub install cn-advertising-compliance
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The Bottom Line

In China's advertising landscape, ignorance of the law is not just costly — it's existential. One prohibited word can mean a ¥200,000 fine, product delisting, and account suspension.

The safest ad is the one that says exactly what the product does — nothing more, nothing less.

All three skills are open-source under MIT-0 license. Install from ClawHub.

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