Internet companies vow to prioritize trustworthiness

Nineteen internet enterprises, including Baidu and Tencent, promised on Thursday that they would make trustworthiness the priority while participating in lawsuits at the Beijing Internet Court to uphold justice.

Representatives of the 19 companies submitted their promise letters on improving self-discipline and shouldering responsibilities to the court, with the aim of jointly building a credible country with the court.

The court, set up on Sept 9, is the nation's second court specializing in hearing internet-related cases, including disputes caused by online shopping contracts and online copyrights. The other two such courts are respectively in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, and Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

All procedures for lawsuits, such as case filings, hearings and ruling deliveries, can be done through the courts' online platforms, providing convenience for litigants while also increasing judicial efficiency.

According to statistics released by the Beijing Internet Court on Thursday, its online platform has been visited more than 3.8 million times and accepted more than 5,400 applications of case filings.

"We've opened a 24-hour hotline to answer litigants' questions in online applications to ensure the online platform could speed up lawsuit procedures," said She Guiqing, vice-president of the court.

He also said the court is trying to use more advanced technology to prevent dishonest behavior in lawsuits. "For example, those willing to initiate a lawsuit must be verified by a facial recognition system," he said. "In this way, we could confirm the litigants' identities."

He added all judges in the court are further studying the technologies to cater to lawsuit requirements in the internet era.