Online chat groups under rule of law, too

Users of social-networking app WeChat found their feeds full of blurred pictures, many accompanied by flirty captions. [Photo/IC]

A case related to a pornographic video shared in a social media chat group has been handed over to the People's Court of Yunhe county, Zhejiang province in East China. It is noteworthy that in this case both the group members and the administrator of the group are going on trial. Beijing Youth Daily commented on Monday:

The case has attracted so much attention due to the severe consequences of "just making some buzz" in a relatively closed social media chat group.

People are wondering whether or not the administrator should be punished as severely as the group member who first posted the video.

But the legal foundation for the case is solid.

In accordance with the regulation forbidding pornographic broadcasting in cyberspace, issued by the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate, the chat group administrator and main participants of any group of more than 30members spreading pornographic content should be prosecuted.

So for those that have the responsibility of managing online forums or social media chat groups, they have the responsibility to ensure the chat group abides by the law.

But for many cyber administrators it is not enough to know howto use their rights; they also need to shoulder their own obligations.

In fact, in accordance with national laws, WeChat and other social media groups should know and abide by the rules; and administrators have the responsibility to supervise the postings of group members.