Cracking Down on Online Rumors, Purifying Cyberspace—Sanshan Police Station Conducts In-Depth Public Awareness Campaign in Its Jurisdiction to Combat and Rectify Online Rumors

To further advance the special campaign to combat and rectify online rumors, enhance the public’s ability to identify and resist such misinformation, and mitigate the adverse impacts of online falsehoods on people’s daily lives, on March 25, the Sanshan Police Station of Fuqing Public Security Bureau, under the leadership of Station Chief Shi Linchun and in conjunction with the “One Million Police Officers Enter Ten Million Households” initiative, organized a publicity campaign aimed at cracking down on and addressing online rumors.

During the event, police officers distributed informational leaflets, presented case studies, and displayed banners to explain to students the characteristics of online rumors and how to identify them. They urged all students to take personal responsibility by refraining from posting unverified information, avoiding the fabrication of false content, not believing or spreading rumors, firmly resisting online harassment, and promptly reporting illegal online activities, thereby effectively safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests.

Going forward, the Sanshan Police Station will continue to carry out public awareness campaigns to combat and address online rumors, encouraging the general public to consciously resist such misinformation, abide by the law, and work together to foster a healthy and harmonious cyberspace.

Three Mountains Police Station Reminder

In the face of the myriad online rumors, please consciously adhere to the following three points:

1. Consciously abide by laws, regulations, and online ethics; surf the internet in a civilized and environmentally responsible manner; and refrain from spreading rumors.

2. We must strengthen our sense of social responsibility, cultivate a scientific mindset, and refrain from believing or spreading rumors.

3. In all matters, try to see things from others’ perspectives, and consciously strengthen your ability to identify and resist rumors.

[Relevant Laws and Regulations]

Under Chinese law, liability for online rumors may entail civil liability, administrative penalties, or criminal liability, depending on the severity of the circumstances.

Civil liability

[Legal Basis] Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China

Article 1024: Civil subjects enjoy the right to reputation. No organization or individual may infringe upon another’s right to reputation by means of insult, defamation, or other such acts. Reputation refers to the social evaluation of a civil subject’s moral character, prestige, abilities, creditworthiness, and the like.

Article 1025: Where a person, in pursuit of the public interest, engages in activities such as news reporting or public opinion oversight that nevertheless impair another’s reputation, such person shall not bear civil liability, except in any of the following circumstances:

(1) Fabricating or distorting facts; (2) Failing to exercise reasonable diligence in verifying seriously inaccurate information provided by others; (3) Using derogatory language or other means to damage another person’s reputation.

Article 1194: Where an internet user or an internet service provider infringes upon the civil rights and interests of others by means of the internet, they shall bear tort liability. Where otherwise provided by law, such provisions shall prevail.

(1) Spreading rumors, falsely reporting emergencies, epidemics, or police alerts, or deliberately disrupting public order by other means. (2) Introducing hazardous substances—such as explosive, toxic, radioactive, or corrosive materials, or pathogenic agents of infectious diseases—into the environment to disrupt public order. (3) Threatening to commit arson, explosions, or the release of hazardous substances in order to disrupt public order.

Administrative liability

[Legal Basis] The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Public Security Administration Penalties

Article 25, Paragraph (1): Anyone who spreads rumors, falsely reports an emergency, an epidemic, or a police incident, or deliberately disrupts public order by other means shall be subject to administrative detention for no less than five days but no more than ten days, and may also be fined up to 500 yuan; in cases of lesser severity, the penalty shall be administrative detention for no more than five days or a fine of no more than 500 yuan.

Criminal liability

[Legal Basis] Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China

Article 246: Whoever, by means of violence or other methods, publicly insults another person, or fabricates facts to defame another person, and the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of no more than three years, criminal detention, public surveillance, or deprivation of political rights. Article 291-1, Paragraph 2: Crime of Fabricating and Intentionally Spreading False Information—Whoever fabricates false information concerning danger, epidemics, disasters, or police alerts, and disseminates it on the information network or other media, or knowingly disseminates such false information on the information network or other media, thereby seriously disrupting social order, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of no more than three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance; if serious consequences result, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of no less than three years but no more than seven years.

Article 293, Paragraph 1, Items (2) and (4): Anyone who commits any of the following acts of provoking trouble and disrupting social order shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of no more than five years, criminal detention, or public surveillance: (2) chasing, intercepting, verbally abusing, or intimidating others under egregious circumstances; (4) creating a disturbance in a public place, thereby causing serious disorder.

Article 5 of the Interpretation by the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases Involving Defamation and Other Offenses Committed via Information Networks (Fa Shi [2013] No. 21) provides that anyone who, by means of an information network, insults or intimidates others, and whose conduct is serious and disrupts social order, shall be convicted and punished for the crime of provoking trouble, in accordance with Paragraph (2) of Article 293, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Law.

Whoever fabricates false information, or knowingly disseminates such fabricated false information on the information network, or organizes or directs others to do so, thereby inciting disturbances and causing serious public disorder, shall be convicted and punished for the crime of provoking trouble in accordance with Article 293, Paragraph 1, Item (4) of the Criminal Law.