Pre-installed software cannot be uninstalled and included in public interest litigation

The Shenzhen Consumer Council conducted a network survey on the issue of mobile phone preinstalled software uninstallation during March 2014. The survey results show that 95.32% of mobile phones have preset application software, and 88.91% of preset application software cannot be uninstalled. 98.60% Consumers believe that provisioning application software cannot be uninstalled unreasonably. In response, the Shenzhen Consumer Council issued a public advisory letter in conjunction with the Guangdong Provincial Consumer Council, hoping to allow consumers to freely uninstall pre-installed applications that are not linked to the system.

Last May, the Shenzhen Consumer Council signed a letter to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly with the Consumer Council of Guangdong Province and above. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) was asked to regulate the pre-installation of mobile phone software. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has commissioned the Telecom Research Institute to study the matter. Yesterday, the Shenzhen Consumer Council stated that it had decided to include the issue of uninstallation of mobile phone pre-installed software in the feasible area of ​​public interest litigation.

"Preset software" stubborn disease: Part of unable to uninstall software information is unknown

In order to fully listen to and understand the viewpoints and reasons for this phenomenon among mobile phone manufacturers and telecom operators, on April 10th this year, the Shenzhen Consumer Council convened Huawei, Samsung, Lenovo, Coolpad, OPPO, HTC and other brands of mobile phone manufacturers and three major Operators held seminars.

After a number of investigations, the Shenzhen Consumer Council believes that there are two main issues that can arise when preset application software cannot be uninstalled:

Firstly, current communication operators require pre-installed application software and third-party application software to be unloaded freely, but part of the self-research software pre-set by mobile phone manufacturers is not allowed to be unloaded freely.

Second, a lot of malicious software or other application software that cannot be uninstalled is illegally installed by a third party after the mobile phone leaves the factory. However, because current mobile phone manufacturers have not publicized the relevant information of the preset application software, consumers cannot distinguish between them. Which application software in the mobile phone is preset by the manufacturer and which application software is illegally installed by a third party after leaving the factory, leading to disputes between the consumer and the manufacturer due to the problem of preset application software.

Voice: Preset software cannot delete infringement of "option"

Shenzhen Consumer Council stated that consumers have the right to independently choose goods or services according to law. Mobile phone manufacturers use technical means to restrict consumers from freely uninstalling preset application software, making it impossible for consumers to freely select application software according to personal preferences. The application software occupies the mobile phone memory space, but the application software that the consumers really need cannot be installed, thus seriously infringing on the discretionary power of many consumers.

It is understood that the Shenzhen Consumer Council will continue to pay attention to the situation of preset application software in mobile phones of various brands. If it is considered that the application software preset by the mobile phone manufacturer is non-essential application software and consumers are not allowed to unload freely, the Shenzhen Consumer Council The relevant mobile phone experts and legal experts will be organized to conduct research and certification, and a public interest lawsuit will be filed against the mobile phone manufacturer in accordance with Article 47 of the Consumer Protection Law.

Manufacturers should publish preset software information

In response to the above problems, the Shenzhen Consumer Council officially stated to each mobile phone manufacturer that each mobile phone manufacturer should publish the information of the preset application software on the official website or in the mobile phone manual, including the number, type, and use of the application software. , permissions, space, etc., to allow consumers to know the preset software information in the purchase of mobile phones; at the same time, each mobile phone manufacturer should strictly abide by the principle of necessity in the process of preset application software, for non-essential application software, especially Self-developed application software should allow consumers to unload freely (except self-developed preset application software that embodies product features or highlights product differentiation).