Since October 1st of 2016, the 806 million users of China’s superapp WeChat are facing new app regulations. Chinese state media report that all messages posted in the app’s friend groups (朋友圈) can now be used as evidence in court.
China’s Ministry of Public Security announced that the new regulations have come into effect on October 1st, and also apply to Sina Weibo, Baidu Tieba, and other Chinese micro-blogging platforms.
The regulations mean that these kinds of digital data can now be identified as legal evidence and that China’s public security organs have the right to access electronic information and collect user data.
Since August of 2016, Chinese mobile app providers have already been legally obliged to collect user data and retain those records for at least 60 days.
The regulations come after a string of new measurements implemented by China’s State Internet Information Office (SIIO) and Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) over the past few years. One of these measurements is that Chinese mobile phone became required to register SIM cards under their real names.
Also on Sina Weibo, users have to register with their real names since 2015.
Chinese app providers face an obligation to keep the data they hold on users secure. According to Xinhua, app companies must notify users of their rights and must be open with users about privacy policies.
One Beijing law firm calls the announcement of the latest measurement “a joke”, because “WeChat and Weibo content were already allowed to be used as legal evidence long before!”
The firm states that the announcement has been widely promoted through Chinese media to warn companies that Chinese authorities have the legal rights to obtain electronic information from clients, and that they should comply with them.
It also has another function, namely that of reminding Chinese social media users to watch what they say online. After all, everything they say or post can and will be held against them in court, but it would be better for them to avoid ending up there in the first place.
– By Manya Koetse
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