29-year-old Yuan Yu (pseudonym) has been labeled a "defaulter" for four years, and her life has been stagnant for the same duration. In December 2017, while in her senior year of college, she signed with Huya Inc. to become a streamer for the company, earning over 100,000 yuan per month at her peak. Two years later, following a platform-switching dispute, she was successively sued by Huya and a talent agency, facing combined claims totaling over 25 million yuan. Ultimately, the court ruled that she must pay Huya Inc. over 20 million yuan. While she initially won the first trial against the talent agency and was awarded 500,000 yuan in compensation, she eventually owed the agency over 30,000 yuan due to her second-trial lawyer's failure to provide a defense.

"I carry two 'defaulter' records, my house has been sealed, and my fiancé broke up with me. When I moved away from the streaming industry to find work, employers would discover my defaulter status and find reasons to reject me. I can never repay the 20 million yuan in my lifetime, and I feel like I have no future," Yuan Yu said. She described her life as trapped in an inescapable quagmire and hopes to negotiate with Huya to find a solution. In response, Huya Inc. staff stated they would relay the situation to the relevant department.

**College Student Turned Streamer Once Earned Over 100,000 Yuan Monthly, Now Faces 20 Million Yuan Claim for "Unauthorized Platform Switch"**

In 2015, while still a sophomore, Yuan Yu began engaging with live streaming and gradually gained some recognition. In December 2017, during her senior year internship, she was signed by Huya, paying 120,000 yuan in breach-of-contract fees to her previous talent agency.

"On May 1, 2018, Huya offered me a new contract, transitioning from outdoor streaming to chat streaming, when I hadn't yet received my graduation certificate," Yuan Yu explained. The previous contract stipulated a breach penalty of 5 million yuan, while the new contract raised it to 10 million yuan. As a precaution, her friend signed the new contract on her behalf while she only provided her fingerprint.

"I thought I was being clever, but it proved insufficient for real-world problems. This approach later proved useless," Yuan Yu noted. The new exclusive cooperation agreement was for three years, but she experienced a roller-coaster situation within one year.

According to Huya's platform requirements, she simultaneously signed an agreement with a talent agency, creating a three-party cooperation relationship. "Streamers with talent agencies can receive operational support. Under the three-party agreement, the talent agency was responsible for my operational support, while Huya would directly settle revenue sharing with both me and the agency monthly based on streaming performance. The agency would arrange people to pose as big spenders in my streaming room, giving gifts to create atmosphere and encourage other viewers to do the same. The money given to me had to be returned to the agency afterward."

Yuan Yu stated that after transitioning to chat streaming, her monthly income once exceeded 100,000 yuan. In early 2019, she purchased a house in her hometown of Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, for 1.26 million yuan in cash.

"Starting in 2019, the talent agency became less attentive, delays occurred when handling problems, and my income dropped to 20,000 yuan per month. After earning big money, one's mindset changes. We disagreed on streaming duration definitions, arguing monthly about streaming hours and minimum wage guarantees," Yuan Yu said. She realized that contract interpretation rights rested entirely with the company, but she didn't realize these contracts would soon bring her devastating consequences.

During her disputes with the company, another talent agency attempted to poach her, encouraging her to "test the waters" on other platforms. With insufficient understanding of contract consequences and overconfidence, she used an alternate account to try chat streaming on another major platform. The streaming went well but was quickly discovered by Huya Inc.

After gathering evidence, Huya suspended her account and sued for return of all earnings plus 20 million yuan in damages.

"The talent agency also claimed 3 million yuan. I consolidated issues regarding overdue signing fees, streaming duration disagreements, and inadequate operational support, then negotiated a solution with Huya: switch to another talent agency, continue my Huya contract, and compensate Huya 3.5 million yuan over five years," Yuan Yu said. Another talent agency proactively approached her for signing, promising to cover 1 million yuan in compensation while she would pay 500,000 yuan annually.

Yuan Yu felt this goal was easily achievable. "But after resuming streaming for two months, this talent agency absconded with funds, failing to deliver the promised 1 million yuan. When Huya pressed for payment and I couldn't pay, our cooperation ended."

**Bearing Two "Defaulter" Records, Life Trapped in Quagmire; Lawyer: Exercise Caution When Signing High-Value Contracts**

In 2021 and 2022, Yuan Yu was successively listed as a dishonest person subject to enforcement by courts, earning her "defaulter" status for four years.

"My house was sealed, my fiancé chose to break up, and when job hunting, employers would directly reject me after discovering my defaulter status. My entire life has been stuck in that 2020 quagmire," Yuan Yu said. She deeply regrets signing that contract and blindly trusting encouragement to "test waters" on other platforms when unable to resolve disputes.

The exclusive cooperation agreement with Huya Inc. required that if a streamer planned to sign exclusive services with other platforms after contract expiration, they must inform Huya in writing of negotiated terms, and Huya had the right to sign a new agreement under equal conditions. Unilateral contract termination, violation of exclusive agency clauses, other breaches preventing contract fulfillment, or directly signing with other parties causing Huya to lose priority signing rights all constituted breaches. The company had the right to recover all earnings and claim 5 million yuan (or 10 million yuan) in damages, or claim damages equal to four times (or ten times) obtained and potential earnings.

Yuan Yu's lawyer argued regarding contract terms that the agreement's breach responsibility provisions were unequal, with 10 million yuan and ten-times-earnings penalties inevitably placing the other party in an irredeemable situation. Young people with limited experience may make mistakes but shouldn't be completely destroyed.

Recently, media outlets have reported multiple cases of streamers (including minors) trapped in high-value breach penalties, with contracts sharing similar characteristics: explicitly avoiding labor, employment, or hiring relationships while including harsh breach clauses.

Zhao Hongtao, a lawyer from Jiangsu Changhua Law Firm who regularly handles such cases, explained that MCN agencies and platform contracts typically include various restrictions and high breach penalties. Some large companies knowingly include unenforceable high penalties but list court-awarded amounts as receivable profits in financial statements, regardless of actual collection.

"Once signed, definition and interpretation rights typically rest with companies, and whether breaches occur isn't determined by streamers. Major platforms are better, but some smaller companies employ various measures to catch violations, expand their nature, force departures, then demand breach payments," Zhang Hongtao explained, citing examples like streaming duration calculations where some companies don't count post-midnight hours toward daily totals, leading to insufficient daily streaming hours.

"Natural inequality exists between agencies and individuals, with no completely fair contracts. As long as contracts aren't signed through inducement, fraud, or coercion, they receive legal protection. People with full civil capacity should evaluate consequences and negotiate clause modifications before signing, refusing if unacceptable. Blaming companies entirely when disputes arise is also irresponsible," Zhang Hongtao warned that those entering the streaming industry seeking fame and money who carelessly sign contracts without research may face troubles.

"I'm a complete cautionary tale. I carelessly signed contracts when inexperienced, then made poor decisions due to overconfidence and insufficient legal awareness, easily trusting talent agency encouragement. One wrong step led to many, and I feel my life is ruined," Yuan Yu said. She's willing to compensate Huya Inc. but hopes to negotiate a feasible solution to escape her stagnant state.

On the 25th, when contacted about the situation, Huya Inc. staff stated they would record and relay the information to relevant departments.