Boundary of criminal responsibility of internet service providers ? a lesson from the Qvod case

• Author: Chen Xuan
• Pages: 47-56

FRONTIERS OF LAW IN CHINA

VOL. 13 SEPTEMBER 2018 NO. 3

DOI 10.3868/s050-007-018-0027-2

SPECIAL ISSUE

PARADIGMS OF INTERNET REGULATION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND CHINA

BOUNDARY OF CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY OF INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS

— A LESSON FROM THE QVOD CASE

CHEN Xuan∗

Abstract The Qvod case in 2016, in which the Chinese video-sharing site Qvod was

convicted of the crime of disseminating pornographic materials for profits, provoked

heated debates regarding the criminal responsibility of internet service providers (ISPs)

in China. Using the Qvod case as an example, this paper first discusses the definition

and the legal obligations of ISPs, and argues that we should decide the criminal

responsibility of ISPs according to their functions and the content of their services. This

paper further analyzes four major issues associated with the criminal responsibility of

ISPs, including accomplice responsibility, accessory with neutral conduct, perpetrator by

action or omission and ideal concurrence (Idealkonkurrenz).

Keywords the Qvod case, internet service provider, neutral assisting conduct, criminal

responsibility

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 357

I. THE QVOD CASE...................................................................................................... 358

II. THE DEFINITION OF AN ISP AND ITS LEGAL OBLIGATIONS .................................... 359

III. FOUR ISSUES ON THE CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY OF ISPS................................... 361

A. Accomplice Responsibility................................................................................. 361

B. Accessory with Neutral Conduct....................................................................... 362

C. Perpetrator by Action or Omission................................................................... 364

D. Ideal Concurrence (Idealkonkurrenz) ...............................................................366

CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................ 366

INTRODUCTION

In the internet age, cybercrime has become a serious societal problem. This issue has

particularly been at the top of the political and legal agenda in China because of a

fast-growing internet industry on the one hand, and an underdeveloped internet regulatory

∗ (󳌝󱅜) Ph.D. in Criminal Law, School of Law, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China; Associate Professor,

School of Law, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China. Contact: chenxuan1226@hotmail.com