WeChat Moments is not lawless territory: what should friends stop posting?

WeChat Moments is a "circle" of daily life that almost everyone looks at. A wave of public legal education about what people post there has lately been sweeping the internet. Moments is to some degree public and is readily passed on, so what appears there cannot be entirely a matter of personal whim. So what kind of post may be unlawful? The summary below sets out the main categories.

Do not defame or insult others on Moments

The most easily committed of these comes first: defaming or insulting others on Moments. Everyone has friends who complain about life or work there, and some will go further and insult others on Moments over a dispute at work or in life. That very easily infringes another person's right of reputation.

Legal basis:

Article 101 of the General Principles of the Civil Law of the People's Republic of China, on the right of reputation, provides that citizens and legal persons enjoy the right of reputation, that the personal dignity of citizens is protected by law, and that it is prohibited to harm the reputation of a citizen or legal person by insult, defamation or other means.

Selling prohibited or unlawful goods is banned on Moments

Selling through WeChat has become commonplace. But selling online through Moments has the same character as selling in the physical world, so goods that the state expressly prohibits cannot be sold there either. WeChat itself imposes penalties in stages on accounts and groups that post offers of prohibited goods, and blocks links to such offers.

What are the common prohibited goods? Examples include prohibited wildlife products, unlawful provision of certificates, controlled weapons, obscene material, aphrodisiac and stupefying drugs, and counterfeit cigarettes and medicines.

Legal basis:

Article 141 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, on the offence of producing or selling counterfeit drugs:

A person who produces or sells counterfeit drugs is liable to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention, and to a fine; where serious harm to human health or other serious circumstances is caused, to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years and not more than ten years, and to a fine; and where death is caused or there are other especially serious circumstances, to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years, life imprisonment or death, and to a fine or confiscation of property. "Counterfeit drugs" means drugs, and non-drug substances treated as drugs, that are counterfeit or are treated as counterfeit under the provisions of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Drugs.

Article 225 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, on the offence of illegal business operation:

A person who, in breach of state provisions, engages in any of the following illegal business activities, disrupting market order, where the circumstances are serious, is liable to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention, and to a fine of not less than one and not more than five times the unlawful gains, or to such a fine alone; and where the circumstances are especially serious, to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years, and to a fine of not less than one and not more than five times the unlawful gains or to confiscation of property:

(1) dealing without a licence in goods that are subject to monopoly or exclusive sale, or are otherwise restricted for sale, under laws and administrative regulations;

(2) buying or selling import and export licences, certificates of origin for imports and exports, and other operating licences or approval documents required by laws and administrative regulations;

(3) illegally engaging in securities, futures or insurance business without the approval of the competent state department, or unlawfully engaging in the business of settling and paying funds;

(4) other illegal business activities that seriously disrupt market order.

Article 341 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, on the offence of illegally hunting, killing, buying, transporting or selling rare or endangered wildlife:

A person who illegally hunts or kills rare or endangered wildlife under special state protection, or illegally buys, transports or sells such wildlife or its products, is liable to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention, and to a fine; where the circumstances are serious, to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years and not more than ten years, and to a fine; and where the circumstances are especially serious, to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years, and to a fine or confiscation of property. A person who, in breach of hunting regulations, hunts in a closed season or a closed area, or with prohibited tools or methods, damaging wildlife resources, where the circumstances are serious, is liable to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance, or to a fine.

Do not invent or spread rumours on Moments

Rumours travel extremely fast on Moments. Because the relationships there are unusually close, a rumour seems more credible than on other, more open social platforms and spreads more quickly. So rumours must not be invented or passed on there either.

Legal basis:

Article 25 of the Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security provides that a person who does any of the following is liable to detention of not less than five days and not more than ten days, and may in addition be fined not more than RMB 500; where the circumstances are relatively minor, to detention of not more than five days or a fine of not more than RMB 500:

(1) spreading rumours, falsely reporting a dangerous situation, an epidemic or a police matter, or otherwise deliberately disrupting public order;

(2) placing fictitious explosive, toxic, radioactive or corrosive substances or infectious disease pathogens or other such dangerous substances, disrupting public order;

(3) threatening to commit arson or explosion or to place dangerous substances, disrupting public order.

Article 291A of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, on the offence of placing fictitious dangerous substances:

A person who places fictitious explosive, toxic, radioactive or infectious disease pathogen substances, or fabricates information about an explosive, biochemical or radiological threat, or knowingly spreads fabricated threat information, seriously disrupting social order, is liable to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years, criminal detention or public surveillance; where serious consequences are caused, to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years. A person who fabricates false information about a dangerous situation, an epidemic, a disaster or a police matter and spreads it on an information network or in other media, or knowingly spreads such false information deliberately on an information network or in other media, seriously disrupting social order, is liable to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance; where serious consequences are caused, to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years and not more than seven years.