Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences, 2026, 9(6); doi: 10.25236/AJHSS.2026.090608.
Qiaoling Zhang
School of Law and Public Administration, Yibin University, Yibin, Sichuan, China
The 57th Statistical Report on Internet Development in China released by the China Internet Network Information Center provides data showing that as of December 2025, the number of netizens in China reached 1.125 billion, and the internet penetration rate exceeded 80%, with the benefits of digital age development reaching more social groups. In recent years, the state has continuously improved relevant laws and regulations and increased governance efforts, but there are still many practical problems in criminal regulation. In practice, the characterization of cyber violence is unclear, there are disagreements on the selection and application of charges, and the determination of causality, evidence fixation, and evidence collection are difficult. There is no unified quantitative standard for "serious circumstances." These problems together have resulted in poor effectiveness of criminal governance of cyber violence. In response, criminal legislation should be further improved, the standards for conviction and the rules for the application of charges should be refined, the boundaries of the application of each charge should be clarified, the mechanism for the connection between public prosecution and private prosecution should be improved, and a governance system involving judicial organs, network platforms, and social forces should be built to effectively curb cyber violence and effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of citizens and a clean and orderly cyberspace.
Cyberbullying; Criminal Law Regulation; Insult; Defamation
Qiaoling Zhang. Research on the Dilemmas and Paths of Criminal Law Regulation of Cyber Violence. Academic Journal of Humanities & Social Sciences (2026), Vol. 9, Issue 6: 58-65. https://doi.org/10.25236/AJHSS.2026.090608.
[1] Supreme People's Court, Supreme People's Procuratorate, Ministry of Public Security. Guiding Opinions on Punishing Cyber Violence Crimes According to Law: Fa Fa [2023] No. 14 [Z]. 2023-09-20.
[2] Cyberspace Administration of China, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, et al. Regulations on the Governance of Cyberbullying Information: Cyberspace Administration of China Order No. 17 [Z]. 2024-06-12.
[3] Liu Xianquan, Zhou Zijian. The dilemma of criminal law regulation of cyber violence and its solution [J]. Legal Research, 2023 (5):16-27.
[4] Chu Chencheng. The Evolution of Criminal Law's Response to Cyber Violence and Its Basic Stance [J]. Chinese Journal of Criminal Law, 2023 (4):35-52.
[5] Supreme People's Court. Typical Cases of Punishing Cyber Violence and Crimes According to Law [EB/OL]. (2023-09-26)
[6] Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China [M]. Beijing: Law Press, 2024.
[7] Supreme People's Procuratorate. 34th Batch of Guiding Cases: Case No. 137, Lang and He's Defamation Case [Z]. 2022-02-22.