registers multiple companies, develops technology platforms, recruits a large number of part-time workers to act as "Internet trolls", and conducts paid "redirect comments, likes", "direct messages", "complaints and reports" etc. ——On July 4, the Hangzhou Internet Court publicly heard a civil public interest litigation case involving the manipulation of "internet trolls" to spread false information.
The court hearing scene. The Paper reporter Zhong Changyu picture
The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) learned from the court hearing that the court ordered Yang Moumou, a media company, an Internet company, and a technology company to delete published false information and log out of "Internet There were more than 1,200 fake accounts of "Target Troopers", and they publicly apologized in national media and compensated public welfare damages totaling 1 million yuan.
Previously, the four defendants were found by the court to have constituted illegal business operations and were held criminally responsible for providing paid post deletion services for the purpose of profit and disrupting market order.
Paid "re-like" refers to liking, reposting, and making positive comments on designated film and television works and celebrities, online videos, game works, product announcements, etc. according to customer requirements to increase popularity. "Direct posting" refers to publishing specific content about specific works and products on Weibo Square and other places according to customer requirements to increase the popularity of the topic. "Complaints and reports" refers to deleting negative information about specific works and products through complaints and reports on the information publishing platform according to customer requirements, so as to reduce the popularity of negative information.
According to the Hangzhou Binjiang Procuratorate, the public interest prosecutor, from 2021 to May 2022, Yang Moumou used three companies he registered to develop technology platforms, used the platforms to manipulate Internet trolls, and carried out paid activities without verifying the authenticity of the released information. "Repost comments, likes", "direct messages", "complain and report", etc. The specific model is to accept customer entrustments through three companies, and charge service fees at a price of about 1 yuan per message; staff or customers create and publish specific tasks such as "forward comments and likes", "direct messages" and "complaints and reports" on the platform. Then control the navy to complete the mission. The methods of operating online trolls include recruiting part-time personnel, who are trained to register on the platform and receive orders; the company maintains an account and registers an account to receive orders; and the entire system is subcontracted to suppliers. Specific behaviors include providing reposts and likes for movies, TV series, celebrities, games, etc. on platforms such as Weibo, Douyin, Zhihu, JD.com, etc., to conduct traffic fraud; providing complaints about movies, TV series, products, etc. on Weibo, forums and other platforms. Report business to delete negative reviews. For example, if you complain about a negative review of a certain brand of cosmetics on Weibo about the brand's sunscreen products, the number of complaints required is 500 times.
Evidence shows that the three defendant companies, as Party B, have signed contracts with Party A, such as a game company in Shanghai and a media company in Hangzhou, to provide monitoring services or marketing services. Party B monitors the risk public opinion content and synchronizes it with Party A in a timely manner, gives maintenance suggestions, and carries out maintenance after obtaining Party A's consent. Maintenance methods involve providing "repost comments, likes", "direct messages", "reports", etc., among which there are cases of "maintaining an account" for Party A. According to statistics, the defendant used the developed technology platform to complete more than 240,000 tasks such as "redirecting comments to likes" and "direct arrests", with a task value of more than 8.9 million yuan; and completed more than 1,000 complaints and reporting tasks, with a task value of more than 180,000 yuan.
The public interest litigation plaintiff believes that online information is one of the main ways for the public to obtain information, and its authenticity and credibility are important elements in building a clear cyberspace. The four defendants carried out paid "reposting, likes, direct postings, and complaints and reports" without verifying the authenticity of the information. This was an act of falsifying traffic and intervening in the presentation of information by publishing and deleting information to seek illegal benefits, which is a communication network. False information destroys the ecological order of the Internet and the order of the market economy, infringes upon the rights and interests of Internet users, and damages the public interests of society. It should bear civil tort liability in accordance with the law.
During the trial, the four defendants stated that they had recognized their mistakes, apologized to the public, and were willing to assume liability for public damage.
The Hangzhou Internet Court held that the four defendants’ actions disrupted the online public opinion environment and the order of Internet credit management, destroyed the normal operating order of relevant industries and markets, and damaged the public’s right to know and choose, and they should bear civil tort liability. Therefore, The above judgment was made.
