Chinese courts step up crackdown on cyber crimes

Chinese courts step up crackdown on cyber crimes

New types of crimes will not escape punishment: expert

Zhang Jun, president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC), delivers a work report of the SPC at the second plenary meeting of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 9, 2026. Photo: Xinhua

China's courts had concluded 9,326 cases involving crimes endangering cyber security over the past five years, an increase of 158.5 percent from the previous five-year period, according to a work report of the Supreme People's Court on Monday.

The report, submitted to the national legislature's annual session for deliberation, also highlights cases of "doxxing," the illegal exposure of others' personal information, and using assisted-driving features while drunk, which sends a clear signal that new types of crimes will be strictly punished under the law, experts said.

The fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) held its second plenary meeting on Monday. Zhang Jun, president of the Supreme People's Court, delivered the work report of the top court at the meeting, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

In 2025, 25,000 cases of the crime of assisting information network criminal activities were concluded, involving 38,000 individuals; the number of cases fell by 62 percent year-on-year, demonstrating clear results from coordinated governance, according to a release sent by the court to the Global Times.

An expert on cybersecurity, Qin An, told the Global Times on Monday that with growing public reliance on cyberspace, law enforcement priorities, capabilities, and technological support are increasingly focused on the area.

Courts have also lawfully punished crimes such as online rumor-mongering, online pyramid schemes, and cyber violence. The report revealed that two young individuals who maliciously engaged in "doxxing" by illegally obtaining and disseminating other people's private information were convicted and sentenced in accordance with the law.

According to case details released by CCTV News on Monday, the two individuals, a PhD student surnamed Zhao and a junior student named Cheng, dissatisfied with the popularity rankings of virtual idols, conspired with overseas individuals to illegally obtain the personal information of the voice actors for the two virtual idols.

They created a group on an overseas social platform, publicly sharing the victims' movements and medical visits, which led to online harassment and offline stalking. Both victims later suffered from depression.

The court in Beijing's Haidian district held that Zhao and Cheng committed the crime of illegally using information networks. Each was sentenced to one year and six months in prison and fined 10,000 yuan ($1,450).

The work report also clarified that drivers who activate assisted-driving functions while under the influence still bear criminal liability, underscoring that technological applications must remain within the bounds of the law.

Xie Yongjiang, Director of the Internet Governance and Law Research Center at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, told the Global Times on Monday that technology cannot shield people from legal responsibility. He emphasized that it is therefore crucial to establish clear legal boundaries for emerging industries.

Qin said that the cases send a clear signal that new types of crimes will be strictly punished under the law.

The public, especially ordinary individuals, should remain vigilant against the evolving disguises of cybercrime in the digital environment and also consciously abide by the law, the expert said.

It is also crucial to implement joint prevention and control with coordinated efforts by the government, platforms, relevant enterprises and individuals, which is one of the objectives law enforcement agencies aim to achieve through extensive public awareness campaigns, Qin added.

China's judiciary has also taken a zero-tolerance approach to crimes against minors, the work report said. A total of 40,000 cases involving crimes against minors were concluded in 2025, down 1.8 percent year on year. The courts also ordered 1,199 individuals to be banned from working in positions involving close contact with minors.

As China intensifies its crackdown on telecom and online fraud, courts have also concluded 41,000 cases of telecom fraud involving 85,000 people, up 1.2 percent year on year. A total of 16 ringleaders of the four major criminal gangs in northern Myanmar were sentenced to death with immediate execution in accordance with the law, the report said.

In addition, the report noted that China's foreign-related case numbers have jumped, with Chinese courts concluding about 159,000 foreign-related cases in the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), up 66 percent from the previous five years. China has effectively implemented the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law and taken strong counterm…