Makers of fake online views punished by Beijing court

A dispute over unpaid fees for illegally faking online views eventually ended up in court - where both parties lost their claims, and their money.

In earlier testimony at the Beijing Internet Court, the defendant, surnamed Xu, admitted to making a contract with the plaintiff, surnamed Chang, for Chang to increase views of an online game through an internet service.

Xu paid money to the plaintiff, but refused to pay the rest because she thought the view data was problematic. Chang took Xu to court, claiming Xu did not fulfill their contract.

After a two-hour hearing, Zhang Wen, the court president in charge of the case, deemed the contract invalid and illegal in accordance with Chinese Contract Law, "as it damages public interests and disturbs the cyberspace order".

The number of online views can help netizens better assess an online service, product or platform, "but falsified views as in this case is a kind of fraud, misleading users and bringing disorder to the online business environment," Zhang said.

Under the ruling, both parties were also ordered to hand over their illegal gains to the court, which they did on Monday. The court received 16,310 yuan ($2,360) from Chang and 30,743 yuan from Xu. It also sent judicial suggestions to the city's public security bureau and the market regulation administration, calling on them to join hands to fight online violations such as forging online views.

Legal professionals welcomed the verdict, taking it as a crucial step in regulating internet behavior and calling for government departments to increase supervision and law enforcement.

"Credibility in the virtual world is as important as that in reality, so our fight against online violations must be strengthened," Zhu Wei, an associate professor of law at the China University of Political Science and Law, told China Daily on Tuesday.

Xiong Bingwan, assistant professor of law at Renmin University of China, highlighted the significance of the case, saying it would contribute to the development of the internet as well as governing cyberspace by rule of law.

He also applauded the court's suggestions, "as online governance needs the joint efforts of courts and government departments," he added.

But Zhu, the associate professor, said asking the two litigants to turn in their illicit gains was too lenient. He suggested courts increase penalties to create a bigger threat to those using technologies to harm order online.