Recently, many consumers have reported to the Pengpai public interaction platform that the “anti-counterfeiting codes” on the products they purchased are fake. These products mainly involve multiple brands of clothing and cosmetics. Among them, Xu Lin from Jiangsu (pseudonym) found that the anti-counterfeiting code on the clothes he bought online could be redirected to a non-official webpage after scanning, which displayed the product as genuine, but the code could not be verified on the official WeChat public account. Ms. Zhang, who bought cosmetics from the official “修丽可” flagship store, also encountered the same problem. In China, product quality issues are endless, with various counterfeit and substandard goods flooding the market. It is precisely because of this that many bourgeois consumers who purchase luxury goods have to pay attention to anti-counterfeiting codes. However, in capitalist society, the exchange of goods by the bourgeoisie is only for obtaining value, without regard to their use value, and even anti-counterfeiting codes cannot be considered a “golden ticket” for authenticity. An investigation by Pengpai News found that the technology for producing anti-counterfeiting codes is not difficult, is inexpensive, and many merchants selling these codes claim that they can produce and ship without verifying enterprise qualifications, with each code costing only a few cents to a few tenths of a yuan. These codes, when scanned, link to platforms often branded as “3.15 National Digital Anti-counterfeiting Verification Center,” “Product Information Anti-counterfeiting Verification Center,” “China Product Verification Center,” “National Product Verification Center,” etc., as gimmicks. However, these websites with various “national” signs are actually registered and recorded by private enterprises. According to an industry insider, fake QR codes and websites are self-created, with sellers verifying their own codes, naturally showing as genuine. In reality, there is currently no nationally certified anti-counterfeiting platform. Therefore, these codes have instead become a pass for counterfeit goods. After discovering that the anti-counterfeiting code on a purchased product is fake, Xu Lin reported this to the store, but the other party only responded that their products are absolutely genuine and free of fakes, without providing any substantive solution regarding the anti-counterfeiting code. In fact, behind the anti-counterfeiting codes and the “anti-counterfeiting” websites, there is already a mature industry chain. Many counterfeit sellers can purchase anti-counterfeiting sticker codes on platforms like Taobao without providing qualifications or verification. On the other hand, the technology for creating anti-counterfeiting codes is not high; companies can customize their own verification systems or imitate official anti-counterfeiting interfaces to deceive consumers. Taking the “3.15 National Digital Anti-counterfeiting Verification Center” that Xu Lin scanned as an example, the bottom of the website shows that the ICP filing entity is Zhejiang Cangnan Yicheng Anti-counterfeiting Technology Co., Ltd. Tianyancha shows that this company is engaged in anti-counterfeiting packaging technology development, computer software development and system integration; sales of plastic products, aluminum-plastic products, crafts, packaging materials, and anti-counterfeiting packaging materials. On 1688’s official website, the company also sells anti-counterfeiting codes at prices as low as 2 cents each. When asked by the reporter why fake goods still show as genuine on this website, a company staff member said, “You scanned the wrong website, it’s not ours.” It is clear that neither anti-counterfeiting codes nor various branded anti-counterfeiting websites with “authoritative” certifications can guarantee the quality or authenticity of products. This is true even for clothing and cosmetics of well-known brands, let alone the large amount of daily necessities purchased by ordinary people. However, even if the “national team” intervenes, can it solve the rampant counterfeit problem and fake codes? The answer is no. The upcoming “315 Gala” has always been a tool for bureaucratic monopoly capital to crack down on small producers and small to medium-sized capital, and the “strengthening management” of anti-counterfeiting codes will inevitably follow the same pattern.
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