Top procuratorate pledges intensified crackdown on cybercrimes

BEIJING -- China's top procuratorate has pledged to intensify the country's crackdown on cybercrimes with improved regulations and enhanced efforts.

Zheng Xinjian, a senior prosecutor of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP), said at a press conference Monday that crimes conducted via the internet had seen rapid growth in China over recent years. The number of such cases handled by the country's procuratorial agencies in 2020 had increased by 54 percent year on year.

Noting that most cybercrimes involve online fraud or online gambling, Zheng said during the COVID-19 epidemic, about one-third of the fraud cases dealt with by the procuratorates were committed via the internet.

He also warned that more cybercrimes are now facilitated through the provision of technologies, citizens' personal information and money laundering services by "dark or gray industries."

Moreover, such crimes are conducted through more diversified means, snaring more young and low-income individuals and causing greater harm to society, the prosecutor said.

To better guide local-level procuratorates in dealing with relevant cases, the SPP Monday released a regulation in this regard.

The 65-article regulation covers the work of prosecutors in such cases, stipulating standards for their activities such as collecting evidence and handling electronic data, Zheng explained.

It also emphasizes the employment of professional technology and expertise in such work.