Yes — if the false advertising is serious enough. Under Article 222 of China’s Criminal Law, the advertiser, the advertising agency and the publisher can each face up to two years’ imprisonment or criminal detention plus a fine, and prosecution begins where illegal gains reach 100,000 yuan.

The offence and the numbers

Article 222 covers anyone who, in violation of state regulations, uses advertising to make false or misleading promotions about goods or services, where the circumstances are serious. Note who is caught: the brand that pays for the ad, the agency that designs it, and the platform or account that publishes it.

The specific thresholds come from the 2022 filing and prosecution standards issued by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security (Article 67, false advertising). Prosecution can start where: illegal gains are 100,000 yuan or more; false advertising using the pretext of epidemic or disaster prevention produced illegal gains of 30,000 yuan or more; false advertising for food or drugs produced illegal gains of 30,000 yuan or more; the advertiser repeats the conduct within two years after two or more administrative penalties; serious harm or a serious negative social impact is caused; or other serious circumstances exist.

Companies are not a shield. Article 231 provides that where a unit commits this offence, the unit is fined and the directly responsible managers and other directly responsible personnel are punished personally under Article 222.

Why livestreaming is the current risk area

Marketing through livestreaming, short video and influencer endorsement is the channel where these cases are actually being built. The sales script matters: a host who repeats claims supplied by a brand is not automatically protected, and the brand that supplied the claim is exposed as the advertiser. Origin claims, ingredient claims, certification claims, and health or medical claims about ordinary food are the most common triggers.

Two real cases, two different outcomes

Publicly reported, administrative route: in September 2024 a joint investigation team in Hefei announced the confiscation of illegal gains and a fine totalling 68.94 million yuan against a major livestreaming company over false commercial promotion in its broadcasts — a regulatory penalty, not a criminal case.

Publicly reported, criminal route: in February 2024 the Zhaojue County People’s Court in Sichuan convicted eight people of false advertising in the “Liangshan Mengyang” livestreaming case, sentencing the main host to 11 months’ imprisonment; the operation had sold goods falsely presented as local Liangshan agricultural products for more than 30 million yuan. The case is in the People’s Court case database and was reported by Chinese media in March 2024.

The difference between the two outcomes is usually numbers and intent: illegal gains, repeat penalties, and whether the goods at issue were food or drugs.

What this means for your business

If you sell into China through livestreamers, keep the scripts and the evidence behind every factual claim — origin, certification, test reports. If a regulator has already penalised you twice in two years, stop the same claim before the third time, because that repetition is itself a filing threshold. And if investigators visit, treat it as a potential criminal matter from day one: the same conduct can start as a fine and end as a case file.

The takeaway: in China an advertising fine and an advertising prosecution are separated by three numbers — 100,000 yuan in illegal gains, 30,000 yuan for food or drugs, and two prior penalties within two years.

FAQ

Q: Is false advertising always a crime in China?

A: No. Minor cases are handled administratively by the market regulator with fines. It becomes criminal only when one of the filing thresholds is met.

Q: What is the punishment under Article 222?

A: Up to two years’ imprisonment or criminal detention, with a fine, or a fine alone. Where a company commits the offence, Article 231 adds a fine on the company plus personal liability for those in charge.

Q: Can a foreign brand or overseas seller be prosecuted?

A: Yes. Anyone advertising goods or services into the Chinese market, including through Chinese livestreamers or agencies, can be liable — the practical questions are where the false claims were made and whether the gains meet the threshold.

Q: What counts as false advertising?

A: Claims about quality, origin, ingredients, certification or effects that are untrue or misleading. Advertising food or drugs falsely has a much lower threshold: 30,000 yuan in illegal gains.

Q: Can individuals be liable, or only companies?

A: Both. The company is fined, and the directly responsible managers and other directly responsible personnel are punished personally under the same article.

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Wang Guan | Co-founder, Beijing Haolue Law Firm | +86 17813108512