Chinese courts have pledged to step up efforts to combat online extortion, aiming to uphold justice in cyberspace and clearly define the boundaries of internet behavior.
The announcement came after the Supreme People's Court, China's top court, disclosed six significant cases on Tuesday to highlight its ongoing crackdown on such crimes.
"With the deep integration of information and social life, criminal activities have increasingly spread into cyberspace," the top court said, noting that cases involving individuals using the internet to extort others by fabricating and disseminating false information have become more frequent.
The court urged judges nationwide to prioritize these cases, emphasizing that online extortion has severely harmed individuals and businesses by damaging reputations, infringing on property rights and threatening cybersecurity, social stability and economic growth.
In one case, a defendant surnamed Sun was sentenced to eight years and seven months in prison and fined 100,000 yuan ($13,685) for creating and spreading false information about a woman online and demanding money from her.
In June 2022, Sun, a follower of a livestreamer, insulted another woman, Hou, in a livestreaming room, falsely claiming that Hou had an inappropriate relationship with the streamer. When Hou, who worked at a training institution, asked Sun to stop, Sun demanded 1 million yuan in exchange.
After Hou refused, Sun escalated her harassment by calling and messaging Hou's colleagues and students, spreading false allegations about her personal life. Sun also reported Hou's company to authorities for alleged violations, including lacking proper educational credentials and tax evasion, and posted false claims on various websites and forums.
Unable to bear the harassment, Hou attempted suicide but survived. Sun continued demanding money and posted online that Hou had "committed suicide out of guilt". Hou then reported Sun to the police, leading to her arrest.
"Sun's actions constituted extortion and warranted severe punishment because they caused significant harm to Hou's reputation and subjected her to intense physical and psychological distress," the top court said.
The court underscored that online rumors often cause greater harm than offline ones and encouraged victims to seek help from law enforcement and judicial authorities.
The top court also urged courts at all levels to focus on extortion involving "nude chats", a growing online scam.
In one case from 2020, a defendant surnamed Li led a group of people operating from Myanmar who persuaded victims to undress during nude video chats. They secretly recorded the conversations and used the footage to extort more than 700,000 yuan from over 30 victims.
Li, identified as the ringleader, was sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison for extortion and concealing illicit gains. He was also fined 105,000 yuan.
"In recent years, cross-border telecom and cyber extortion crimes involving nude chats have significantly increased," the top court said, urging the public to stay vigilant and enhance their legal awareness.
The Ministry of Public Security reported in April that more than 250 Chinese nationals suspected of engaging in cross-border nude chat extortion and telecom fraud were handed over to Chinese authorities.
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