According to the provisions of Article 1 of the "Regulations on Several Issues Concerning the Collection, Extraction, Review and Judgment of Electronic Data in the Handling of Criminal Cases", electronic data refers to those formed during the handling of cases and stored, processed, and processed in digital form. Transmit data that can prove the facts of the case.
Electronic evidence mainly includes the following contents:
1. Information published on web pages, blogs, Weibo, Moments, Tieba, network disks and other online platforms.
2. Mobile phone text messages, emails, instant messaging, communication groups and other network application service communication information.
3. User registration information, identity authentication information, electronic transaction records, communication records, login logs and other information.
4. Documents, pictures, audio and video, digital certificates, computer programs and other electronic files. Exception: Evidence recorded in digital form, such as witness testimony and party statements, does not constitute electronic data.
Extended information
In order to standardize the collection, extraction, review and judgment of electronic data and improve the quality of criminal case handling, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security jointly issued the "About Notice on Standardizing the Collection, Extraction, Review and Judgment of Electronic Data (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"). Recently, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and the Ministry of Public Security jointly issued the "Regulations on Several Issues Concerning the Collection, Extraction, Review and Judgment of Electronic Data in Criminal Cases" ” (hereinafter referred to as the “Regulations”), effective from October 1, 2016.
The "Regulations" clearly state that electronic data refers to data that is formed during the trial of a case, stored, processed, and transmitted in digital form, and can prove the facts of the case, including: web pages, blogs, Moments and other networks Information released by the platform; communication information from network application services such as mobile phone text messages, emails, and instant messaging; user registration information, identity authentication information, electronic transaction records; files, pictures, audio, video information, files, pictures, audio, video, etc. Electronic documents.
The "Regulations" require that the collection and extraction of electronic data should be carried out by more than two investigators, and the evidence collection methods should comply with relevant technical standards. During the collection and extraction process, if the original storage medium of the electronic data can be seized, the original storage medium should be seized and sealed, and an explanation should be given. If the original storage medium cannot be seized, the electronic data can be extracted, but the reasons should be explained and the nature of the electronic data should be explained. Location or source, etc.
The "Regulations" clearly state that if a large amount of data cannot be extracted or is inconvenient to be extracted, or if the extraction time is long and may lead to the electronic data being tampered with or lost, it must be approved by the person in charge of the public security agency at or above the county level or the chief prosecutor. , electronic data can be frozen. When freezing electronic data, methods such as calculating the integrity check value of electronic data and locking network application accounts should be adopted.
The "Regulations" require that the original storage media or electronic data collected and extracted should be sealed with the case, and the electronic data should be backed up and transferred. Web pages, documents, pictures, etc. that can be directly demonstrated Electronic data does not need to be transferred with a printed copy. For frozen electronic data, the category, file format, freezing subject, key points of evidence, and relevant network application accounts should be indicated in the list of transferred frozen electronic data, and instructions on viewing tools and methods should be attached.
The "Regulations" make it clear that to determine whether the electronic data is authentic, we should focus on examining whether the transferred original storage medium is the original storage medium, whether the electronic data has digital signatures or special identifications such as certificates, etc., and whether the electronic data is intact, we should take The method of sealing the original storage media and verifying the sealing status shall be reviewed. Whether the collected and extracted electronic data is legal or not shall focus on reviewing whether the collected and extracted electronic data is legal. Whether the collection and extraction of electronic data is legal or not, the focus should be on whether the collection and extraction of electronic data is carried out by two or more investigators, and whether the evidence collection method complies with relevant technical standards.
The "Regulations" clearly state that if the public prosecutor, parties, defenders, or agents have objections to the electronic data identification opinions, they may apply to the people's court to notify the identification expert to appear in court to testify. If the people's court deems it necessary for the appraiser to appear in court, the appraiser shall appear in court to testify.
If, upon notification by the People's Court, the appraiser refuses to appear in court to testify, the appraisal opinion shall not be used as the basis for finalizing the case. The public prosecutor, parties, defenders, and agents may apply to the court to notify a person with specialized knowledge to appear in court and express opinions on the appraisal opinion.
The "Regulations" require that during the process of electronic data collection and extraction, if there are defects such as electronic data not being transmitted in a sealed state, which cannot be remedied or a reasonable explanation can be provided, they shall not be used as the basis for finalizing the case. If the electronic data has been tampered with, forged, or the authenticity of the electronic data cannot be determined, and if the electronic data is added, deleted, modified, etc. that affects the authenticity of the electronic data, it shall not be used as the basis for finalizing the case.
Baidu Encyclopedia - Electronic Evidence Law