LIANG LUWEN/FOR CHINA DAILY
Chinese prosecutors charged 11,600 adults with using telecommunication networks to harm minors from January 2020 to September this year, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said on Friday.
In response to issues of public concern, including people coercing juvenile girls into submitting nude photos through online chats, the SPP issued case guidance establishing the principle that acts of online obscenity without physical contact were equivalent to offline crimes. Over 3,000 people have now been prosecuted under that principle.
Xian Jie, head of the SPP's ninth procuratorial office, told a news conference in Beijing that it had actively participated in the whole process of judicial protection of minors, and had used criminal, civil, administrative and public interest litigation powers to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of minors.
Prosecutors had also carried out supplementary investigations and, when necessary, assigned personnel to participate in the investigation of major and complex cases, she said.
Since the start of last year, 302 people who had wrongfully escaped prosecution for infringing the rights of minors through telecom networks had been brought to justice.
"Procuratorates provide comprehensive assistance to minors who have suffered online exploitation, and initiate public interest litigation to urge certain government departments or industries to fulfill their duties in cases where the rights of many minors have been affected," she said.
Over the past three years, prosecutors had initiated 524 public interest litigation cases concerning the online rights and personal information of minors, the SPP said.
Procuratorates were focusing on emerging online sectors, Xian said, and were encouraging related departments to establish work standards, such as explicitly prohibiting esports hotels from hosting minors, and using prosecutorial recommendations, public interest litigation, information exchanges and communication to collaborate with other departments to address problems like minors becoming addicted to online games and being exposed to harmful content.
