From advertisements to fraudulent phone calls, from spam to selling short messages, the disclosure of personal information makes people miserable. What are the legal consequences of selling a customer's phone number by taking advantage of work? Recently, a case of infringing citizens' personal information tried by the Xiongxian People's Court in Hebei Province will tell you the answer.
From May 2020 to July 20021,the defendant Zhang Moumou took advantage of his work in the mobile business hall to send the customer's mobile phone number and verification code to various WeChat Racine groups without the customer's consent, so that others could register, JD.COM, Taobao and other software accounts, and each account registered successfully earned a profit ranging from several yuan to more than ten yuan. By the time of the incident, Zhang Moumou had made an illegal profit of 9,876.5 yuan.
The People's Procuratorate of Xiongxian County, Hebei Province believes that the defendant Zhang Moumou violated the relevant provisions of the state and sold the citizen information obtained in the process of providing services to others, infringing on the civil rights and interests of unspecified citizens, and accordingly filed a public prosecution with the Xiongxian People's Court and filed an incidental civil public interest lawsuit.
After trial, Xiongxian People's Court held that the defendant Zhang Moumou violated the relevant provisions of the state and sold the personal information of citizens obtained in the process of providing services to others, which was serious and constituted a crime of infringing citizens' personal information. At the same time, Zhang Moumou's act of infringing citizens' personal information infringes on the civil rights and interests of unspecified citizens and harms the interests of the public, so it should bear civil tort liability. On June 30, 2022, Xiongxian People's Court sentenced the defendant Zhang Moumou to eight months' imprisonment, suspended for one year and fined him 10,000 yuan. Compensation for the loss of social public interests of 9876.5 yuan; Apologize publicly in provincial newspapers and media, and permanently delete all illegally obtained personal information of citizens. After the verdict was pronounced, the defendant did not appeal and the public prosecution agency did not protest. The judgment has taken legal effect.
The judge's statement
Zhang, president of the People's Court of Xiongxian County, Hebei Province, in recent years, citizen information has been leaked from time to time, and personal privacy has been seriously threatened, which has brought great insecurity to the masses. Selling mobile phone numbers and verification codes is the "hardest hit" in cases of infringing citizens' personal information, and it is the focus of the crackdown. The Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) on the Protection of Personal Information, which came into effect on 202 1, 1, clearly included the protection of personal information in the statutory field of public interest litigation, which demonstrated the firm determination of the state to strengthen diversified governance and ensure the personal information security of citizens. As the first criminal incidental civil public interest litigation case of infringing citizens' personal information in Xiongxian County, Xiongxian People's Court cracked down on the defendant's infringement of citizens' personal information in accordance with the law, investigated civil liability, and formed a joint force with a two-pronged approach, highlighting the clear orientation of protecting citizens' personal information. Here, I want to remind you that you should abide by professional ethics wherever you are. Illegal disclosure of citizens' personal information is not only a civil tort, but also a serious criminal responsibility. The broad masses should also enhance their awareness of prevention. When others need to operate the mobile phone for maintenance and payment, they should pay attention to whether the operation is beyond the business scope, enhance the awareness of personal information protection and protect the safety of personal information.
Expert review
Qin Wei The application of digital technology by professors and doctoral supervisors of Sun Yat-sen University Law School not only improves economic and social efficiency, but also brings severe challenges to citizens' personal privacy protection and information security. Judging from the current statistical data, the number of crimes infringing citizens' personal information by selling customers' mobile phone numbers and verification codes is extremely huge, which not only endangers citizens' information security, but also easily becomes the root of new crimes such as telecom fraud and online fraud, causing various crimes, affecting people's sense of security and damaging social interests. This case is a typical case, which is of great significance to the protection of personal information and the development of public interest litigation, and shows the actions and responsibilities of the people's courts in the field of personal information protection.
In this case, the court accurately summarized the focus of the dispute on the basis of finding out the facts, and pointed out that Zhang Moumou's act of infringing citizens' personal information infringed on the civil rights and interests of unspecified citizens and harmed the interests of the public. At the level of legal application, the defendant surrendered himself, pleaded guilty and repented, and made a judgment according to law. At the same time, the court also reminded people to consciously enhance their awareness of personal information security protection, not to provide personal information easily, not to believe news and links from unknown sources at will, and to guard against personal information being used by criminals and causing losses to themselves and others. This case supports the prosecutor's request to file a public interest lawsuit. From the perspective of social effect, it has promoted the joint efforts of the whole society to protect personal information security and improved the quality and effect of criminal incidental civil public interest litigation.