The main provisions of our country’s laws concerning the right to privacy are as follows:
1. Constitution of the People’s Republic of China
Article 38 of the People’s Republic of China* **The personal dignity of citizens of the Republic of China shall not be violated. It is prohibited to use any method to insult, slander or falsely accuse citizens.
Article 39 The residences of citizens of the People's Republic of China are inviolable. Illegal searches or illegal intrusions into citizens' homes are prohibited.
Article 40 The freedom of communication and the confidentiality of communication of citizens of the People’s Republic of China are protected by law. Except for the need for national security or the investigation of criminal crimes, where the public security organs or procuratorial organs inspect communications in accordance with the procedures prescribed by law, no organization or individual may infringe on citizens' freedom of communication and communication confidentiality for any reason.
2. General Principles of the People's Republic of China and the Civil Law
Article 100 Citizens enjoy the right of portrait, and citizens' portraits may not be used for profit without their consent.
Article 101. Citizens and legal persons enjoy the right to reputation. The personal dignity of citizens is protected by law. It is prohibited to damage the reputation of citizens or legal persons by means of insult, slander, etc.
3. Opinions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Implementation of the "General Principles of Civil Law" (Revised Draft)
Date: 1990-12-05 Issuing Unit: Supreme People's Court
158. For the purpose of profit, the use of a citizen's portrait for advertising, trademarking, window decoration, etc. without the citizen's consent shall be deemed as an infringement of the citizen's portrait rights. (Original Article 139)
159. Using other people's portraits in a manner that insults or maliciously vilifies can be considered an infringement of reputation rights.
160. Promoting other people's privacy in written, oral or other forms, or fabricating facts to blatantly vilify other people's personalities, or using insults, slanders, etc. to harm other people's reputations, causing a certain impact, shall be deemed as infringement of citizens' right to reputation.
Any action that slanders or slanders the reputation of a legal person in writing or orally, causing damage to the legal person, shall be deemed an act that infringes upon the right of reputation of the legal person. (Original Article 140)
161. If a citizen's reputation is violated after his death and his spouse, parents, children or other relevant persons are harmed, the victim may file a lawsuit.
162. If someone misappropriates or impersonates another person's name or title and causes damage, it shall be deemed as an infringement of the right of name or designation. (Original Article 141)
4. Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China and the People's Republic of China
Article 245 Whoever illegally searches the body or residence of others, or illegally invades the residence of others, shall shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention.
Any judicial staff member who abuses his power and commits the crime in the preceding paragraph shall be severely punished.
Article 246: Anyone who openly insults others by violence or other methods or fabricates facts to slander others, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, public surveillance, or deprivation of political rights.
The crimes in the preceding paragraph will only be dealt with upon complaint, except for those that seriously endanger social order and national interests.
Article 252: Anyone who conceals, destroys or illegally opens other people's letters and infringes upon citizens' right to freedom of communication, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than one year or criminal detention.
Article 253 Postal workers who open, conceal, or destroy mail or telegrams without permission shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years or criminal detention.
5. Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Minors
Article 39: No organization or individual may disclose the personal privacy of minors.
No organization or individual may conceal or destroy minors’ letters, diaries, and e-mails; except for the need to investigate crimes, the public security organs or the People’s Procuratorate shall inspect them in accordance with the law, or the incapacitated persons shall No organization or individual may open or review the letters, diaries, and emails of minors, except for their parents or other guardians to open and review them on their behalf.