[2] Compiled from: Shandong High Court
 
In a certain residential community in Huaiyin District, Jinan City, the property management company, as a party involved, publicly disclosed a court judgment containing others' personal information in the owner group. Does this act constitute an infringement on the right to privacy and the right to personal information?
 
Case review
Wang, an owner of a residential community in Huaiyin District, had a property service dispute with the property management company in 2022 that went to court. The court ruled that Wang must pay overdue property fees to the company, and the company won the case. Subsequently, the property management company posted a group announcement in the owners' WeChat group about Wang's loss, and uploaded images of the effective judgment document into the group, without obscuring Wang's name, home address, or ID number on the first page. Wang believed that the company's arbitrary dissemination of his personal information violated his right to privacy, so he sued the company, requesting a public apology and compensation for mental damages.

(Image source from the internet, delete upon infringement)
 

The property management company argued that its release of the judgment document was a reasonable and proper use of a public court ruling, intended to urge Wang and other owners to pay property fees on time, without any intent to disclose Wang's privacy, and thus no infringement occurred.
 
 
[1] Court Opinion
After trial, the Huaiyin Court held that in this case, when the property management company disclosed the judgment document, it failed to obscure Wang's personal private information such as his name, ID number, and home address, leading to the leakage of Wang's private information. This affected Wang's peace of life and social evaluation to some extent, infringing on his right to privacy. The company's act was subjectively at fault and objectively caused the disclosure of Wang's personal information, violating his right to privacy. Therefore, Wang's request for a public apology was legally justified, and the court supported it.
 
Wang claimed that the company's act caused him severe mental damage, but he did not submit corresponding evidence to prove it. Thus, Wang's request for mental damages lacked sufficient basis, and the court did not support it.
 
Ultimately, the Huaiyin Court legally ruled that the property management company must publish an apology letter to Wang in the owners' communication group and post it on the community bulletin board. If the company refuses to fulfill this obligation, the court will select a municipal-level newspaper to publish the main content of this judgment, with the costs borne by the company. Wang's other claims were dismissed.
 
 
Civil Code of the People's Republic of China
Article 1032
Natural persons have the right to privacy. No organization or individual may infringe upon another's right to privacy by means such as prying, intrusion, disclosure, or publication.
Privacy refers to the peace of private life of a natural person and the private space, private activities, and private information that they do not wish to be known to others.
 
Article 1034
The personal information of natural persons is protected by law.
Personal information refers to various information recorded electronically or by other means that can identify a specific natural person alone or in combination with other information, including the natural person's name, date of birth, ID number, biometric information, address, phone number, email address, health information, and location information.
Private information in personal information is subject to the provisions on the right to privacy; where there are no such provisions, it is subject to the provisions on the protection of personal information.
 
 
[1] The author's perspective
In daily life, it is very important to handle property disputes legally, reasonably, and effectively. For property management, if an owner indeed owes fees, they should first issue a reminder. If the owner still does not pay, the property management may file a lawsuit against the owner. However, even if they win the case, the judgment document should not be made public, as this is not conducive to resolving the dispute and may easily escalate conflicts, as well as potentially infringe on others' right to privacy. It is worth noting that property management cannot cut off water or electricity to an owner for underpayment or non-payment of fees. If the owner insists on not paying, the property management company should apply to the court for compulsory enforcement in accordance with the law, using legal means to protect their rights under the judgment.