Internet "unboxing" refers to the behavior of criminals illegally collecting and mining citizens' personal information and publishing it publicly. It is an important source of inducing online violence. In a typical case recently released by the Supreme People's Procuratorate, many online game players were "opened" and suffered cyber violence. When the act of “opening boxes” involves multiple crimes, how will the judicial authorities punish it? How to promote source governance?
More than one billion pieces of citizens’ personal information were illegally obtained and stolen
In 2022, an online game company in Chengdu reported that many game players were "unboxed" and exploited online, and their personal information was made public, which severely affected their lives. After the public security organ opened the case for investigation, the procuratorate intervened in advance.
Chen Long, prosecutor of the People's Procuratorate of Longquanyi District, Chengdu City, Sichuan Province: In order to gain Internet influence, the defendants Chen Moucheng and Lu Moupeng, together with Ma Mouli and others, "unboxed" game players with different opinions on multiple platforms. Taking advantage of their familiarity with network technology, they used script codes to invade a provincial affairs platform system and illegally obtained more than 16 million pieces of personal information such as citizen ID numbers and phone numbers; they also stole more than 1 billion pieces of information such as account numbers and phone numbers registered on multiple online platforms. They also committed online cyberbullying and offline harassment against 47 victims including online game players and Tieba owners across the country, 5 of whom were minors. 5 of the victims sought medical treatment due to mental depression, and many school students became tired of studying.
"Opening boxes" involves multiple crimes, and multiple crimes are punished in accordance with the law.
The defendant in this case hid behind the Internet and used technical means to commit the crime. It was highly concealed, difficult to obtain evidence, and affected a wide range of people. Most of the victims were ordinary Internet users such as online game players in various places.
Chen Long: We rely on the mechanism for hearing opinions on major and difficult cases to intervene in advance. We recommend that the public security organs seize the computers, mobile phones and other equipment involved in the case in accordance with the law, standardize electronic data on fixed network platforms, comprehensively investigate the sources of information, and identify the complete criminal chain of "open box" cyber violence. At the same time, we clarify the crimes committed by related behaviors one by one.
"Open box" cyber violence usually includes multiple behaviors such as intruding into computer information systems, illegally obtaining information, and cyber violence and harassment, etc., and may violate multiple crimes at the same time.
Zu Yanguang, a second-level senior prosecutor of the General Crime Prosecution Department of the Supreme People's Procuratorate: According to the provisions of the criminal law, illegal intrusion into website platforms, illegal acquisition and disclosure of other people's information, provocation and trouble, etc. on the Internet may constitute a crime. Among them, those who invade websites through the Internet and illegally obtain citizens' personal information, and the amount reaches the standard of "particularly serious circumstances", will also face a fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years, and a fine.
After review, Lu Moupeng invaded the national affairs computer information system, provided technical support for others to "open the box" and committed cyber violence, which constituted the crime of illegal intrusion into the computer information system and the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble, and should be punished for several crimes together; Chen Moucheng and Ma Mooli invaded the platform to obtain citizens' personal information. The two crimes were imaginary competition and selective felony punishment, and were determined to be crimes of infringement of citizens' personal information. The two committed cyber violence, constituting the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble, and were punished for several crimes in accordance with the law. The remaining three defendants were guilty of picking quarrels and provoking trouble.
Chen Long: On September 30, 2024, our court launched a public prosecution against Chen Moucheng and other six people. On December 19, 2025, the Longquanyi District People's Court accepted the charges charged by the procuratorial agency and sentenced 6 people to fixed-term imprisonment of four years, five months to nine months, and fines.
Some defendants were dissatisfied and appealed. On April 30, 2026, the Chengdu Intermediate People's Court ruled to reject the appeal and uphold the original verdict.
Liu Xiangshuai, director of the First Prosecution Department of the People's Procuratorate of Chengdu City, Sichuan Province: Internet "unboxing" seriously infringes on citizens' personal rights, disrupts online order, threatens public information security, and breeds black and gray industrial chains such as infringement of citizens' personal information. In this case, the procuratorial organs cooperated with the public security organs to comprehensively investigate the criminal facts, accurately apply the law, and punish multiple crimes together and severely punish them.
Punish those who “open boxes” in accordance with the law and strengthen source control
In view of the outstanding issues such as the large number of users of the online platform involved and the wide communication audience, but weak user privacy protection measures and inadequate content review and control, the procuratorial organs issued procuratorial recommendations to a digital technology company, the website operator and manager, in accordance with the law, and urged the company to implement the main responsibility of platform supervision.
Liu Xiangshuai: After receiving the prosecutorial recommendations, the game company actively implemented rectifications, strengthened the efficiency of pre-identification and interception processing through optimized models, improved the content evaluation system, systematically upgraded information security protection measures, and further improved the level of network security management and control.
Disagreement in online comments is a common phenomenon. Zu Yanguang, a second-level senior prosecutor of the General Crime Prosecution Department of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, emphasized that the judicial authorities will resolutely give a negative evaluation to Internet "unboxing" behavior and resolutely punish it in accordance with the law.
Zu Yanguang: Here’s a reminder: The Internet is not a “lawless place” and personal information is protected by law. Whether a game player or other netizen, personal information is inviolable. Anyone who “opens the box” and commits cyber violence against others should bear corresponding legal responsibilities. We also remind all online platform companies that they should strengthen the implementation of their main responsibilities for personal information protection, increase supervision of cyber violence, protect the legitimate rights and interests of users on online platforms, and all parties should work together to protect a clean cyberspace.
