WeChat Cracks Down on Vapes Sold Through Friend Circles: Sellers Hide Posts or Stop Updating

Blue Hole New Consumption reports that on the evening of March 12, the WeChat Security Center published an announcement titled “Notice on Cracking Down on Prohibited Goods Information and Fraudulent Behavior Published by WeChat Personal Accounts,” which specifically mentioned vape sales conducted through WeChat sellers.

WeChat stated that it has always been committed to creating a safe, healthy, and green platform ecosystem, and that it will firmly crack down on illegal and non-compliant activities while continuing its enforcement efforts.

The announcement specifically stated that selling e-cigarettes through WeChat Moments is considered prohibited activity, and the platform will continue to crack down on it.

According to the notice, citizens who sell prohibited goods on the internet may face penalties under relevant laws and regulations such as the Criminal Law and the Public Security Administration Punishments Law, depending on the severity of the case. Relevant provisions such as the Tencent WeChat Software License and Service Agreement and the WeChat Personal Account Usage Rules also clearly state that it is a violation for personal WeChat accounts to publish, display, or disseminate information related to the sale of prohibited goods in any form.

The move has caused a major stir. Sellers promoting e-cigarettes through WeChat Moments said that a dark time has arrived and began taking a series of countermeasures, including deleting previous vape advertisements from their Moments and setting visibility to only the past three days or stopping updates entirely.

After the two ministries issued the online sales ban notice for e-cigarettes in 2019, selling e-cigarettes through WeChat Moments became increasingly common. With the rise of counterfeit and universal-compatible products, vape sales in Moments became even more rampant. WeChat’s action today signals a push toward greater standardization.

Some WeChat sellers also shared response measures in their Moments, and we have captured a few typical examples.

Updates have been stopped.

WeChat also stated that for prohibited sales, it will not only block WeChat Moments but also ban related WeChat groups.

We also remind all shop owners that they should strictly comply with regulations banning online sales. Selling through private WeChat Moments is also a form of online sales and should be standardized promptly.