China's Supreme People's Procuratorate Prosecuted Over 60,000 for Cybercrime Aiding in First Half of Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] China prosecuted more than 60,000 people for aiding and abetting cybercrime in the first half of this year alone.

According to the state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 25th, the Supreme People's Procuratorate announced the day before that it had prosecuted 64,000 people for aiding and abetting cybercrime to crack down on cybercrime. The crime of aiding and abetting cybercrime was newly established in the amendment to the Criminal Law implemented in November 2015, and mainly involves knowingly accessing crimes using information internet and providing server hosting or internet networks. Acts such as technical support for network storage and communication transmission, as well as assistance in advertising promotion and payment settlement, are also classified as important aiding and abetting crimes of communication network crimes.

Looking at the number of cases, the number of prosecutions for aiding and abetting information cybercrime has been continuously decreasing this year, but overall it remains at a high level. In particular, last year, the number of prosecutions increased every month, reaching a total of 130,000. This was due to the Chinese judicial authorities strengthening crackdowns on illegal card (cards, phone cards) trading at that time.

Specifically, crimes occurred throughout China, and most offenders were first-time offenders. Xinhua News Agency reported that the crime patterns are organized and show characteristics of division of labor and specialization.

Since the government's large-scale crackdown on illegal cards in 2020, the number of prosecutions for aiding and abetting cybercrime has surged, ranking third in the number of prosecutions after reckless driving and theft.