Text/Hua Dolma
Today, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and the Ministry of Public Security drafted the Guiding Opinions on Lawfully Punishing Online Violent Crimes (Draft for Comments) to solicit public comments.
At present, online violence incidents are endless. The release of the draft for comments on online violence promptly responds to online focus issues and social concerns.
In today's world full of comments on the Internet, what kind of comments and behaviors are defined as online violence? How should individuals deal with online violence? After the release and implementation of the Draft for Comments, will the cost of online violence rights protection be reduced? In response to the above questions, China News Service Guois Express interviewed lawyers in relevant fields to answer the above questions in detail.
Is it punishable to publish biased comments?
The Draft points out that online violence against individuals who wantonly publish information such as insults, rumors and slander, and invasion of privacy on the Internet, derogates the personality of others, damages the reputation of others, and some cause serious consequences such as "social death" or even mental disorder and suicide of others; Disrupting network order and undermining the network ecology will lead to rampant anger in cyberspace, seriously affecting the public's sense of security.
Unlike traditional violations and crimes, online violence is often committed against strangers who have never known each other, and victims have practical difficulties in identifying the infringer and collecting evidence, and the cost of rights protection is extremely high.
In short, "online violence is essentially a general term for illegal acts that infringe on others' reputation, privacy and personal information rights and interests carried out by means and communication media, including insulting and slandering others through the Internet, and infringing on citizens' personal information." Li Hongjiang, managing partner of Beijing Guantao Zhongmao Law Firm, introduced to China News Service Guoshi Through Train.
The Draft also sets out the criteria for identifying illegal and criminal acts:
Reporting or exposing other people's crimes or violations of law and discipline through information networks, as long as they are not intentionally fabricated facts or knowingly disseminated facts that are fabricated, shall not be recognized as defamation crimes. Commenting on or criticizing others' words and deeds, even if the views are biased or the remarks are excessive, as long as they are not wanton insults or malicious slander, they should not be regarded as insulting violations and crimes.
So, once a comment is made that "infringes on others' right to reputation, privacy and personal information", will it be regarded as online violence and be held accountable, or will it be regarded as online violence only if it "causes serious consequences"?
In this regard, Liu Hongdan, a full-time lawyer at Shanghai Junlan Law Firm, introduced to Guo Weijun that once the victim is insulted or slandered, online violence has already occurred, and according to the severity of the harm circumstance, the law has relevant standards for determination, if it is judged to be a civil case, those who post serious comments such as insults and slander on the Internet need to compensate, apologize and stop the infringement; If it is judged to be a criminal case, the perpetrator of the online abuser will be punished.
What kind of online violence is classified as a civil case? What counts as a criminal case?
Liu Hongdan said that under normal circumstances, the law will make a judgment based on the number of victims of the abuse and the degree of online violence by the online abuser, such as whether it is the organizer. At present, the criteria for determining online violence are based on crimes such as insult and defamation that have been prescribed by relevant laws.
According to the Draft for Comments, heavier penalties will be imposed in any of the following circumstances:
1. Implemented for minors and persons with disabilities;
2. Organizing "water army" and "thugs" to implement;
3. Making up "sex-related" topics that infringe on the personal dignity of others;
4. Using "deep synthesis" technology to publish illegal or bad information, contrary to public order and good customs, ethics and morality;
5. Initiated and organized by network service providers.
How to protect rights if you are abused online?
On online platforms where comments are readily available, individuals are likely to be the perpetrator of inappropriate remarks and may also be victims of violence. So, how should we deal with online violence?
According to the WeChat public account of the Hebei Higher People's Court, when encountering online violence, you can protect your legitimate rights and interests through the following 5 steps:
1. Timely preservation of evidence of infringement: use copies and other means to preserve relevant information, pictures, links and other evidence in a timely manner, and go to a notary public for notarization when necessary.
2. Request the deletion of infringing content: In order to avoid further expansion of the impact, network service providers (i.e., platforms for publishing infringing speech and picture information) are required to promptly delete/block/disconnect relevant links. Where network service providers fail to take timely measures, they shall bear joint and several liability for the expanded part of the damage.
3. Requesting identity information of infringers: Provide relevant evidence to send a letter to the network service provider, or directly sue the network service provider, requesting the real name, contact information, network address, and other information of the infringing user.
4. Filing a lawsuit request: requesting the infringer to take appropriate measures to restore the reputation of the infringed; Request for compensation for moral comfort (only if the infringed party has serious consequences such as moral damage); Request the infringer to compensate for the property damage suffered as a result.
5. Suspected defamation can be reported: If the online infringement of reputation rights is suspected of constituting the crime of defamation, the infringed party may report the case to the public security and pursue the criminal responsibility of the infringer.
Can the difficulty of rights protection be reduced?
The Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and the Ministry of Public Security jointly issued the Draft for Comments to solicit opinions from the public.
Liu Hongdan said that the draft proposes that people's procuratorates can file public interest lawsuits with people's courts in accordance with the law, which is a great improvement. Because in online violence cases, the number of perpetrators is large, if the victim files a lawsuit, it is difficult and costly to prosecute the perpetrators one by one. For example, in the tried Jiang Ge case, Jiang Ge's mother filed a lawsuit against many online abusers one by one.
However, if the people's procuratorate can file a public interest lawsuit in the people's court in accordance with the law, online violence can be handled as a whole case. In other words, victims do not need to file lawsuits one by one, and the people's procuratorate will take the initiative to collect information and collectively file a case against the online abusers.
While making progress, Liu Hongdan's view still has some parts that can be supplemented and improved. For example, the Draft for Comments solicits opinions after the fact, and sets out the standards and procedures for litigation and case filing after the occurrence of online violence, but does not stipulate timely prevention during the incident.
Specifically, when netizens post remarks that infringe on the rights of others, platforms can promptly prevent the emergence of online violence by selecting, closing comments, etc. In online violence, platforms should also have certain responsibilities and obligations.
In this regard, Li Hongjiang also believes that online violence has the characteristics of a large number of perpetrators, difficulty in determining the identity of the perpetrator, and high cost of rights protection, so online violence needs to be prevented in advance:
First of all, public security organs should promptly release information on the progress of the case to the public in accordance with the law, clarify the truth, and effectively eliminate the negative impact;
Second, network service providers should perform network security management obligations and promptly delete bad speech;
Third, relevant institutions should do a good job in publicizing the rule of law, educating and guiding the majority of netizens to consciously abide by the law, and leading the social civilization trend.
The deadline for feedback on the Draft is June 2023, 6.
Members of the public can submit comments through:
1. Please send an e-mail to:
xsjsxgca@163.com；
2. Please send the letter to:
Research Office of the Supreme People's Court, No. 27 Dongjiaomin Lane, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100745; Legal Policy Research Office, Supreme People's Procuratorate, No. 147 Beiheyan Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100726. Label the email subject or envelope with "Feedback on Punishment of Online Violence Documents."