[1] Compiled from: Shandong High Court, Jinan Huaiyin District Court
 
[2] Recently, the Huaiyin District Court of Jinan City lawfully tried the first case of the right to peace of mind after the implementation of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China.

 

Case review
[3] Company A is a company that produces and sells health products. In November 2022, during the "Double Eleven Promotion" on an e-commerce platform, Mr. Chen received a promotional text message from Company A. Having no purchase needs, Mr. Chen immediately replied with an unsubscribe message, incurring a text message fee of 0.1 yuan. He thought that after unsubscribing, he would no longer receive promotional messages. Unexpectedly, he later received another promotional text message from Company A. Helplessly, Mr. Chen unsubscribed a second time, incurring another 0.1 yuan fee. However, within three months after the two unsubscriptions, Mr. Chen received three more promotional messages from Company A, causing him great disturbance.
 
[4] To prevent further disruption to his peace of life, Mr. Chen sued Company A in the Huaiyin District Court, requesting the court to order Company A to apologize; compensate for the unsubscribe text message fees of 0.2 yuan, mental damages of 1 yuan, and necessary rights protection costs.
 
[5] After the judge explained the law and clarified the principles, Company A realized its infringing actions in marketing, sincerely apologized to Mr. Chen, stated that it would strengthen marketing management in the future, immediately cease the infringing actions, and was willing to compensate Mr. Chen for his losses. Seeing Company A's sincere attitude, his demands being met, and his right to peace of mind being upheld, both parties reached an agreement. Company A compensated Mr. Chen with a one-time payment of 1,500 yuan, and the case was successfully concluded through mediation.
 
《[1] The People's Republic of ChinaCivil Code
[6] Article 1033
No organization or individual may disturb the peace of another person's private life through phone calls, text messages, or other means without the consent of the right holder.
 
[1] The author's perspective
In daily life, people often encounter text message marketing, but many overlook or are even unaware of their right to peace, which is an important part of the right to privacy. The Civil Code explicitly protects this right in codified form for the first time. It includes both the safety and tranquility of a natural person's physical space, meaning the right to exclude others from intruding on their living or dwelling space, and the psychological and mental freedom from disturbance, maintaining peace of mind. However, if choosing to use legal means to defend rights, it is crucial to preserve evidence to prove that one's rights have indeed been harmed.