China steps up personality rights protection on internet

BEIJING -- China's crackdown of online crimes related to personality rights continues, with documents to better guide the handling of cases forthcoming, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said Monday.

Insult, slander, and infringement of citizens' personal information on the internet all violate personality rights, said Miao Shengming, an official with the SPP. He added that the top procuratorate has supervised the handling of more than 30 criminal cases related to such crimes.

Since 2019, prosecuting agencies have pressed charges against 213 people for insult or defamation, 21,923 for infringement of personal information, and 15 for crimes that besmirch the reputation or honor of heroic martyrs, Miao said.

The SPP is currently working with the Supreme People's Court and the Ministry of Public Security to draft relevant normative documents to further clarify issues in the area and address the difficulties in prosecution of such cases, he said.

The SPP also publicised five cases that represent personality rights protection in the digital era on the day