Ten years of 3.15: Scams have advanced, oversight has declined

Tech-enabled fraud has outpaced the gala

China’s annual 3.15 consumer-rights gala—CCTV’s 3.15 consumer rights program (315晚会)—used to produce corporate shockwaves. Not anymore. Over the past decade the targets have shifted from small-time food adulteration to highly automated internet fraud. In 2016 it was SDKs that silently drained phones; 2019 revealed predatory online lending; by 2024 gangs were running thousands of sockpuppet accounts from a few hundred dollars of hardware; 2024–25 brought open-source face‑swap tools and AI calling robots that made large-scale impersonation cheap. It has been reported that this year’s exposé uncovered a so‑called GEO “AI poisoning” chain — services that, reportedly, offer to seed product-friendly text into large models so the models return those results as if they were authoritative. Is the 3.15 losing bite? Or has the battlefield simply moved into code and models?

Why the big names have disappeared

Several forces explain why major brands rarely make the show now. First, corporate crisis teams and legal counsels have matured; big firms plan countermeasures months in advance. Second, advertising can blunt exposure — it has been reported that ad contracts and commercial relationships create de‑facto protection for some large advertisers. Third, many companies now self‑disclose recalls or fixes before the gala airs. And fourth, consumer complaints have diversified: platforms such as Weibo (微博) and complaint sites like Black Cat Complaints (黑猫投诉) can amplify public pressure year‑round. The result: the 3.15 spotlight increasingly falls on small workshops and the new, fast‑moving tech black markets that regulators struggle to keep up with.

What this means for regulators and geopolitics

The trend matters beyond domestic PR cycles. Open‑source AI and commodity automation tools make high‑end criminal capabilities widely available, blunting traditional export controls and sanctions aimed at state‑level tech transfer. At the same time, Western restrictions on chips and large model services push both legitimate and illicit actors toward domestic or clandestine toolchains. Bad actors typically adopt new tech earlier than honest firms. The policy implication is clear: regulatory bodies must gain technical literacy and fast‑moving enforcement tools, and platforms must remain a frontline of defense. Otherwise the yearly ritual of 3.15 will continue to document a creeping reality — scams aren’t just evolving; they’re automating, and the watchdogs are playing catch‑up.