The user's online social relationship should be protected according to the scene

　　□ Liu Shuhan

　　Since last year, there have been several cases involving whether the personal information collected by App infringes users’ privacy and personal information rights, such as WeChat Reading Case, Douyin Case, Weishi Case, etc. The court has made first-instance judgments on these cases. .

The frequent occurrence of related cases is also a reflection of the growing problem of App illegal and illegal collection of personal information and the increasing awareness of the rights and interests of Internet users in the judicial field.

Looking at these several cases, we can find that they all involve the issue of "social relationship". Is "social relationship" private or personal information?

When related rights are infringed, how should users protect their rights?

These are issues of great concern to the public.

　　From these cases, the social relationships involved are different. Some are "WeChat friends list", some are "WeChat friends", and some are "Contacts friends". In fact, these can be collectively referred to as "social relationships."

Of course, there is no precise definition of "social relationship" in the law. Generally, we understand it as the connection between people in society and the various social relationships formed by people in social practice.

Its scope is very broad, including kinship based on blood relationship, social relationship based on identity connection, and social relationship based on personal emotions.

　　In recent years, with the rapid development of the Internet, a variety of social software has continued to appear. On the one hand, it provides network communication methods and tools for the social relationship of the public in reality; on the other hand, in addition to traditional communication relationships, various A kind of social relations with Internet characteristics, such as WeChat friends, QQ friends, etc., are also part of people's "social relations".

So, does "social relationship" belong to personal information and privacy?

These are two issues at different levels and need to be discussed separately.

　　In terms of personal information, according to Article 1034 of the Civil Code of my country, personal information should have two characteristics: one is identifiable, that is, specific natural persons can be identified through the information or combination of information, which is the core element of personal information; The second is to have a certain carrier, that is, to record electronically or in other ways, which is a form of personal information.

Common social relationships that belong to users’ personal information may involve mobile phone address books, friend relationships and group lists in social software, etc. This is a digital representation of a specific user’s “social relationship” and should be protected by incorporating personal information.

However, in some cases, for example, there are only very few friends on an account registered without real name. Under this kind of information collection, it is impossible to identify a specific person, and this information cannot be included in personal information for protection.

　　In terms of privacy, Article 1032 of the Civil Code of my country stipulates: "Natural persons have the right to privacy. No organization or individual may infringe on the privacy rights of others through spying, intrusion, disclosure, disclosure, etc.. Privacy is the peace and unwillingness of a natural person’s private life. Private spaces, private activities, and private information known to others. "The purpose of protecting privacy is mainly to protect the tranquility of the private life of natural persons.

For private spaces, private activities, and private information that are unwilling to be known to others, it can be judged by comprehensive consideration of the general and reasonable perceptions of the society and whether or not corresponding security measures have been taken.

Because different types of people have different privacy preferences, and the Internet has the characteristics of openness, interconnection, and sharing, the definition of privacy in the network environment and the judgment of whether it constitutes infringement require specific analysis in conjunction with specific scenarios.

　　Judging from the first-instance judgments of several cases, the social relations involved in WeChat friends and other social relations were not considered as privacy.

In the “WeChat Reading Case” that has come into effect, the court decided that it can be determined that the information subject’s social relationship carries a reasonable expectation of privacy in the following situations: “First, the relationship between the information subject and a specific person is relatively private and unwilling to act for others. Knowing; Second, the disclosure of a certain amount of social relations of the information subject may be subject to inappropriate evaluation of their personality by others and unwilling to be known to others." If it is not the above situation, such as the relationship between classmates and colleagues that are usually disclosed, it is generally not included. The scope of privacy protection.

　　Although the judgments of these cases did not consider the social relationships involved to be protected as privacy, they were all recognized as personal information, which was protected from the level of users' rights and interests in personal information.

Therefore, when dealing with the collection, use, processing, and disclosure of users' social relationships, the principles of lawfulness, fairness, and necessity must be followed, and users' consent must be obtained, the information processing rules must be disclosed, and the purpose, method, and scope of information processing must be clearly stated. , Process relevant information legally and compliantly.

　　From a practical perspective, since ordinary users are obviously at a disadvantage in their knowledge, understanding and grasp of Internet technology, it is difficult to understand how their personal information is processed and used, and they lack control. Therefore, Internet companies must protect users’ rights more Set out, design product models and develop technology applications legally and compliantly.

Especially when it comes to personal information of users, it is necessary to clearly and clearly inform users of the rules, obtain the user's consent, and give the users the right to choose and decide, so that the rights of users can be truly protected and the trust of users can be won.

　　(The author is the President of the Comprehensive Trial Division of Beijing Internet Court)