How is liability determined when fans defame and insult others during their celebrity worship? Today, the Supreme People’s Court released the second topic in the “Fifth Anniversary of the Civil Code’s Implementation” series of classic cases, titled “Adhering to Justice for the People to Better Protect People’s Needs for a Beautiful Life.” This includes cases and discussions that respond to hot topics like “fandom” culture management, further promoting the Civil Code closer to the people’s side and into their hearts.
In the pursuit of celebrities, defaming and insulting others should bear the corresponding responsibility for infringement—Wei Mou v. He Mou and Others in a Network Infringement Case
1. Basic Case Details
Wei Mou is a fan of celebrity A, while He Mou and two others are fans of celebrity B. All four individuals are users of a certain Weibo platform. He Mou and the others once posted some negative content about celebrity A on Weibo, which Wei Mou successfully reported. He Mou and the others, after being reported, became extremely dissatisfied and started continuously posting content such as “suspected crime by Wei Mou” on Weibo, and also publicly shared Wei Mou’s personal photos and Weibo homepage link in their main page and comment sections. After this information was released, views ranged from hundreds to tens of thousands, with numerous shares, likes, and comments. Wei Mou believed that He Mou and others infringed on his reputation rights, hence sued them to the court, requesting an apology from the three and compensation for emotional distress damages.
2. Judgment Outcome
The legally effective judgment found that although the content posted by He Mou and others on Weibo did not explicitly name Wei Mou, it included screenshots of notifications by the platform where Wei Mou had filed complaints, and also disclosed Wei Mou’s Weibo homepage link and personal photos. Since Wei Mou’s Weibo account is verified by real name, it was sufficient for other netizens to recognize that the Weibo content was aimed at Wei Mou. The insults posted by He Mou and others resulted in public evaluations of Wei Mou being diminished, constituting an infringement on Wei Mou’s reputation rights, and thus they should bear the corresponding infringement liability. Considering factors such as the scope of influence of the Weibo posts by the three and the degree of fault, the judgment ordered He Mou and others to each publish a Weibo post on their respective accounts apologizing to Wei Mou and clarifying the facts for one week, as well as paying compensation for emotional distress damages.
3. Typical Significance
In fan groups, behaviors like mutual insults and defamation, support chart manipulation, and fabrication against others damage others’ legal rights, and disrupt the clarity of the internet environment, leading to strong public backlash. In this case, the people’s court, according to the relevant provisions in the Civil Code personality rights, recognized that fans defaming and insulting others in the process of chasing stars constitutes infringement of personality rights, providing a clear and explicit judicial approach for issues like the determination of network users’ identities and infringement actions, thereby fostering rational speech by internet users, promoting governance of the “fandom” chaos in accordance with the law, and creating a healthy upward online environment.
4. Guidelines from the Civil Code
Article 1024 Civil subjects enjoy the right to reputation. Any organization or individual shall not infringe upon another’s right to reputation through means such as insult or defamation.
Reputation is a social evaluation of a civil subject’s morality, standing, talents, and credibility.
Article 1183 If the infringement of a natural person’s rights and interests causes severe emotional distress, the aggrieved person has the right to claim emotional distress damages.
Intentional or grossly negligent infringement of specific objects with personal significance to a natural person, causing severe emotional distress, allows the aggrieved person to claim emotional distress compensation.
