China is planning to roll out a directive to target rampant cyberbullying, including sex-related rumours and defamation.
The Supreme People’s Court, Supreme People’s Procuratorate and Ministry of Public Security – China’s top three legal bodies – jointly issued a set of draft guidelines for the directive on Friday, opening it up for public consultation until June 25.
The document clarifies how online violence may be punished under different existing laws, but does not say when the directive will take effect.
Instances of cyber violence that should draw “severe penalties” include bullying against minors and disabled people, the deployment of paid posters, spreading sex-related rumours, the use of deep fake technology, and cyberbullying organised by websites.
Law enforcement bodies will consider online insults and defamation to be “seriously endangering the social order” if they cause the victim to suffer mental distress or commit suicide or provoke “a large number of vulgar and malicious comments”, according to the proposed directive.
Under China’s criminal law, such a charge is punishable by up to three years in jail or the deprivation of political rights.
In addition, abusers will face criminal charges if the online violence extends to real life situations. “Human flesh searches” – or cyber manhunts – will also be considered a crime if it is deemed as serious.
China does not have a law against online violence, and there have been calls from senior government departments to strengthen regulations to crack down on such abuse.
In November, top internet regulator the Cyberspace Administration of China issued a circular asking websites to set up mechanisms to prevent online violence.
