Top court urges severe punishment for collecting, selling people’s private data

China’s top court has reaffirmed that people will be held criminally liable for using the internet and technology to seriously infringe upon others’ privacy and data security.

The Supreme People’s Court on Thursday required courts nationwide to severely punish individuals who illegally collect or sell other people’s facial information and illegally obtain control of others’ home surveillance cameras, as it disclosed six influential cases.

In one case, a defendant surnamed Xu, started in June 2021 to purchase facial images of about 130 residents and a software online. He used these to unblock multiple game accounts without the consent of the account owners. He also rented out the software and sold the personal data to others, making a profit of 6,000 yuan ($834).

From August 2021, another defendant surnamed Li used the software provided by Xu to help others unblock social media accounts through facial recognition. Li also earned 30,000 yuan by reselling the personal information, including the facial photos and videos.

Both defendants were convicted of infringing upon personal information, and sentenced to nine months and six months in prison, respectively, along with fines. Additionally, their illicit gains, as well as tools used in the crime such as mobile phones and computers, were confiscated.

The top court said that the ruling demonstrated the judiciary’s strong protection of personal rights and served as a warning to those who intend to illegally sell or provide others’ facial information.

In another case, an individual surnamed Han was sentenced to three years and one month in prison, along with a fine of 13,000 yuan after being found to have used software to illegally obtain the account details and passwords of others’ home network surveillance cameras.

Han added these accounts to his mobile phone and laptop to control 193 cameras, remotely viewing the interiors of others’ homes and even taking screenshots of some scenes for his own use.

Additionally, the top court released a case where the defendants violated others’ voice rights using generative artificial intelligence, and called on judges to strengthen the protection of personal rights in cyberspace.