In recent days, a false video of “free cabbage” has been widely disseminated online, resulting in a heavy loss of nearly 200 acres of cabbage from a growing family in inner mongolia。
What are the legal consequences of the fabrication and looting? Who should bear the losses of the growers after the network carnival and disorderly extraction
On the internet, the video claims that cabbage is free
Growers are losing a lot
In a video posted online, the blogger's camera was directed at a full range of cabbage fields, with the text "hundred acres of cabbage are gone" and "inner mongolia welcomes you to pick up the cabbage." the unverified video was released and disseminated by individual media outlets and some netizens, allowing mr. Lee, the grower at the site, to finally see a runaway scene on the morning of 6 november。
Mr. Lee remembers the scene when the cabbage was looted: “in the beginning, three or five people arrived, and i said you should cut up a few of them and stop cutting them. Then suddenly, 700 or 800 people came and told them not to cut, but the scene was completely out of control.”
Web video screenshot
Mr. Lee stated to the media that “the cabbage books have been connected to the distribution channels and are ready to be collected for sale, but have been looted, after a preliminary estimate of approximately 200 acres of cabbage, with a loss of approximately $5,000 per acre, totalling nearly $1 million”. Mr. Lee clarified in the social media that “never said that cabbage would be cut free”。
On the evening of 11 november, a public information circular was issued on the internet platform for internet users to reflect the issue of “beverage of cabbage from their own gardens as a result of the dissemination of free pick-up information on the internet”. The matsuyama commission and the district government attached great importance to the establishment of a joint investigation team to conduct investigations and disposals, which will be made available to society in a timely manner。
"the law is not to blame"
Participants are required to refund, act or constitute an offence
The video shows people carrying sacks, riding electric vehicles or driving to the kitchen to pick up cabbage. Among them, the “preparedness” of some of the pickers and their disregard for dissuasion have clearly gone beyond the “free transmission of false information networks” and represent a flagrant violation of the rights of the growers to property, as anticipated by the “legal impunity”。
According to the analysis of zou zhou, a professor and doctoral mentor at the faculty of law of the university of nankai, “some people feel that, since we all do this together, there is no way for the law to punish him, which is a misunderstanding. In the case of robbery, in addition to civil liability for the return of the original, it may constitute a violation of public order and may even constitute a crime.”
Web video screenshot
Indeed, this wave of free cabbage has evolved from the initial “neighborage pick-up” to a collective rush to ignore rules and laws. So, what's "robbery"? How far is it from the crime
Zou's explanation is that there are many ways in which other people's property is illegally taken into their own hands, including theft, fraud, extortion, robbery, looting, and looting, which is also one of these methods, mainly in the presence of a large number of people who openly take other people's property through non-violent means. The most serious cases of robbery are those that constitute a crime and, if not so serious, not so large, at least breaches of public order。
It should be noted, in particular, that even if the criteria for criminal prosecution are not met, the theft and looting of public or private property may be punished by up to 15 days of detention and a fine, in accordance with the public order management punishment act。
The source of the incident disclosed to the media that a small number of pickers contacted mr. Lee after the incident and apologized for “intentional failure”, but according to the law, all those involved in the looting were required to fulfil their obligation of restitution。
Make up and publish web rumors
What is the responsibility of the fabricators
Most of the previous cases of looting of agricultural products were spontaneous acts by nearby villagers, and behind this raiding of cabbage was the result of web-based rumours, not only by the perpetrators of the raiding of cabbage, but also by the authors of the “free cabbage” information。
According to mr. Puffa, a pro bono lawyer, wang kwai, “if false news is issued that directly causes damage to the vegetable farmers, they are liable. Direct administrative penalties may be imposed in accordance with article 25 of the law on the punishment of public order if the video is also deliberately false or disturbing public order.”
The speed and destructive power of cyber rumours often exceed expectations. A short, unverified video, which is algorithmically recommended and social fissioned, especially after some media “endorses”, gives an exponential spread of false information. And when key words such as “free” “learning out” are combined with images of “live in the field” “happiness of the harvest”, it is more likely that some segments of the population will be motivated to “take advantage”。
Web video screenshot
Wang qianxuan added that the publication or transmission of information without verification or marking could violate the legitimate rights of others, with serious consequences and entail legal liability。
“article 21 of the regulation on the ecological governance of web-based information content stipulates that users of web-based information content services and producers of web-based information content, web-based information content service platforms shall not use networks and related information technologies to commit offences such as insults, defamation, threats, spreading rumours and infringement of the privacy of others to the detriment of the legitimate rights and interests of others.”
The whiteness of cabbage is not only a matter of morality, but also of law. While the fabricators are abominable, those who have not been verified and who have blindly spread the rumours, or even went down in person, are also the promoters and accomplices of the rumours. Some have fantasies of “law doesn't hold it accountable”, it being understood that “law doesn't hold it accountable” is not the tolerance of the law, but a misunderstanding of the law and a disregard for morality. There is no cheapness in the looting, only justice that is “unlawful”。
