Use "little essay" to extort 120,000 yuan from a company? title!
Meat Food Network http://www.meat360.cn 2026/4/3 8:43:04 Follow: 37 Comments:
Introduction: After a traffic accident, instead of asking the traffic police to assess the damage, they used "pressure and pressure" offline to prevent companies from repairing public communication facilities. When offline pressure failed, they turned to short video platforms, used multiple accounts to spread false information, and even suspected of using AI to synthesize rumors, increasing the so-called "compensation" from several thousand yuan to more than 100,000 yuan… Recently, a typical online infringement case against a listed communications company was successfully resolved. The accounts involved in the case were banned in accordance with the law, and more than a hundred infringing videos were removed from the shelves. This case not only dispelled the haze of the Internet for the victim companies, but also wrote a vivid footnote that "online rights protection has boundaries."
1. Accidental collision: The cause of a dispute that could have been resolved through legal channels is not complicated. In September 2025, the communication optical cable line of a local branch of a listed communications company (hereinafter referred to as "a certain company") located in a certain village was scratched and damaged by a passing large vehicle. The sagging optical cable came into contact with the private car of local villager Zhang.
The "Road Traffic Accident Certificate" issued by the local public security and traffic police department clearly defines the facts: the damage to the optical cable was caused by an external traffic accident. After the incident, a certain company, in line with the principle of properly resolving conflicts, immediately made it clear that it was willing to bear reasonable and necessary vehicle maintenance costs in accordance with the law. However, the normal channel for rights protection was unilaterally "cut off" by Zhang. He refused to conduct a vehicle damage appraisal in accordance with the law. Instead, he made demands for lost work pay and the relocation of communication poles, which were obviously beyond the reasonable scope.
2. Offline obstacles and online pressure: Ridiculous "rights protection" methods. After his unreasonable demands were not met, Zhang did not seek judicial channels, but adopted extreme offline obstruction and online rumors.
Block construction offline:
Zhang staged scenes of farce at the communication optical cable repair site: using seat belts to tie the optical cable tightly; deliberately placing the vehicle involved under the optical cable to block the passage; lying on the optical cable to resist the construction; and even moving the optical cable into the drainage ditch and covering it with hard objects, seriously affecting the repair progress of local public communication facilities.
Online rumors and threats:
After offline obstruction failed to make the company succumb, Zhang immediately changed the "track" and attempted to force the company to submit by creating online public opinion. He used multiple short video platforms to link accounts, frequently published false videos involving companies and started live broadcasts:
· Distorting facts: By editing and piecing together scenes from the scene, they spread seriously inaccurate information such as "big companies smashed cars and left them unattended" and "illegal occupation of village collective land".
· Suspected AI fraud: After preliminary verification, some exaggerated content is suspected to be generated by AI synthesis, which is extremely deceptive.
· Sky-high asking prices: In live broadcasts and private communications, Zhang clearly used "continued exposure" as a bargaining chip. Its so-called "settlement fee" soared from the initial 3,000 yuan to 120,000 yuan, and it refused to provide any legal basis.
As of the company's rights protection, the cumulative number of clicks on the relevant false information has exceeded 100,000 times, seriously misleading the public's understanding of the company.
3. In-depth legal education: It may seem like "rights protection", but in fact Zhang's behavior has touched multiple legal red lines and has already deviated from the scope of normal rights protection. From a legal perspective, its serial operations both offline and online have been suspected of violating multiple laws and regulations:
(1) Risks of civil infringement: infringement of the reputation rights of legal persons
Zhang published and disseminated information that was inconsistent with the facts on the Internet platform, misleading the public about the company's legal and compliant operations, which constituted an infringement of the company's reputation rights.
Legal basis: Article 1024 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China stipulates: "Civil subjects enjoy the right of reputation. No organization or individual may infringe upon the reputation rights of others by means of insult, slander, etc." Article 1025 clarifies that if an actor performs news reporting, public opinion supervision and other activities for the public interest, if there is "fabrication or distortion of facts", he shall bear civil liability in accordance with the law. The so-called "online exposure" must be based on objective facts and is by no means an umbrella for spreading rumors and smearing people.
(2) Administrative penalty risk: disrupting public order and online order. Zhang obstructed emergency repairs of communications offline and fabricated false information online, destroying the dual order of reality and the Internet.
Legal basis 1: The relevant provisions of the "Public Security Administration Punishment Law of the People's Republic of China" clearly state that those who obstruct key national construction projects and disrupt the order of enterprises and institutions may be subject to warnings, fines or administrative detention.
Legal basis 2: Article 13 of the "Cybersecurity Law of the People's Republic of China" stipulates that any individual or organization using the Internet must abide by the Constitution and laws, abide by public order, and may not use the Internet to engage in activities such as fabricating and disseminating false information to disrupt economic and social order, or infringe on the reputation of others. Article 6 of the "Regulations on Ecological Governance of Internet Information Content" also strictly prohibits online information content publishers from fabricating and spreading false information.
(3) Criminal risk: Zhang is suspected of extortion and picking quarrels and provoking troubles. He threatened to "continue live broadcasting" and "continue to expose" and demanded so-called "compensation" that was far beyond the reasonable range (from 3,000 yuan to 120,000 yuan). He was not only suspected of picking quarrels and provoking troubles, but also touched the criminal red line of extortion.
Legal basis: According to Article 6 of the "Interpretations of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Applicable in the Handling of Criminal Cases Using Information Networks to Commit Defamation and Other Criminal Cases": "Threatening and coercing others, demanding information on the basis of publishing, deleting, etc. processing network information on the information network. If the amount of public or private property is relatively large, or if the above-mentioned behavior is carried out multiple times, Zhang will be convicted and punished for extortion in accordance with the provisions of Article 274 of the Criminal Law. "Zhang's behavior has obvious criminal risk characteristics of "using online public opinion as a tool to pressure others and seek improper benefits."
4. The official sword: cut off the network "black hands" that reach out to enterprises
In the face of intensifying online infringement, a certain company actively collected and fixed various evidences and made special reports of "enterprise-related infringement" through legal channels.
After receiving the clues, the relevant departments attached great importance to it. After joint verification with the short video platform involved, it was determined that Zhang’s behavior has obvious characteristics of enterprise-related infringement and disruption of online order, and must be resolutely cracked down on. Under official guidance, major platforms took decisive action:
1. Short video platform A: Disposed of more than 100 infringing videos in accordance with the law, and took measures such as banning the live broadcast function of relevant infringing accounts.
2. Short video platform B: Completely banned the accounts involved in accordance with the law, cleared more than 20 explicit harmful videos, and completely blocked the dissemination channels of infringing information.
At present, the risk of dissemination of relevant infringing information has been effectively controlled, and this online farce that attempted to "distribute according to the situation" has been completely brought to an end.
5. Enlightenment of the case: To optimize the business environment, we need to say no to "network distribution according to the situation". This typical case of enterprise-related online infringement, which "converts offline disputes online and civil disputes into public opinion", has sounded the alarm for the whole society:
1. Rights protection has boundaries, and rights protection is not a “dangerous” right. When Internet users encounter disputes, they should resolve them through legal and legitimate channels such as negotiation, mediation, and litigation. Anyone who tries to use "little essays" and short videos to coerce public opinion and put "online pressure" on companies will eventually be punished by law.
2. Enterprises need to be tough, and compliance is the bottom line. In the face of unreasonable claims and malicious online infringements, companies should not have a compromising mentality of "keep quiet" or "spend money to eliminate disasters". They should solidify evidence as soon as possible, make good use of reporting mechanisms and legal weapons, and resolutely defend their legitimate rights and interests.
3. Clear cyberspace and protect the development of enterprises. The regulatory authorities and platform parties collaborated and handled the cases efficiently, demonstrating their firm determination to crack down on corporate-related online infringement and chaos. Only by making the rumor mongers pay the price can we truly protect the online goodwill of enterprises and create a clear and legal business network environment.
(Contributed by: Jilin Provincial Cyberspace Administration)
