Posting on Moments to vent about ex-wife: personal freedom or infringement?

Compiled from: Jinan Huaiyin District People's Court

WeChat Moments has gradually become a major platform for people to share their daily lives. Many are used to posting about life and expressing emotions on Moments, but Moments is not a personal "exclusive territory" nor a place of complete "freedom of speech"—one must be measured in what they say. If your words "go beyond the circle" or even "cross the line," the nature changes and may constitute infringement.

Case Review

The woman, Wang, and the man, Zhang, were originally married but divorced after court mediation due to relationship issues. Later, disputes arose over child visitation. Zhang, feeling dissatisfied, posted a status on his personal WeChat Moments involving his ex-wife Wang and using insulting language. Upon learning this, Wang sued Zhang in Huaiyin Court for infringement of reputation rights, demanding that Zhang immediately delete the post, compensate her 10,000 yuan for mental distress, and issue a public apology on WeChat Moments and in a certain evening newspaper.

Zhang argued that his post was merely expressing his subjective opinion, which would not lower Wang's social standing, nor did he intend to infringe on her reputation rights, thus no illegal act occurred. Moreover, he had set the status to "visible only to myself," so the disturbance no longer existed. He claimed that Wang's demand for deletion lacked factual basis and should be dismissed according to law.

Court Opinion

In this case, Zhang, driven by personal emotions, posted defamatory remarks on WeChat Moments with clear targeting. These remarks drew attention from friends in the circle, objectively affected Wang's social evaluation, and caused adverse effects on Wang within WeChat Moments, damaging Wang's reputation. It should be determined that Zhang infringed upon Wang's right to reputation and caused Wang mental harm, thus Zhang should bear corresponding civil liability. Although Zhang argued that "the current status of the WeChat Moments is set to 'only visible to myself'," since the visibility range of Moments can be modified at any time, the infringing act has not completely ceased. Therefore, the court did not accept Zhang's above defense and ordered Zhang to immediately delete the inappropriate remarks posted.

This case only occurred within Zhang's WeChat Moments. Publishing an apology in newspapers would to some extent expand the scope and impact of the infringement. Therefore, it is appropriate for Zhang to issue an apology statement within his WeChat Moments, with the content subject to court review. Wang demanded compensation of 10,000 yuan for mental distress. Considering factors such as the scope of the incident's impact and the degree of fault in Zhang's infringing act, the court determined that Zhang should compensate Wang 1,000 yuan for mental distress.

The court ruled that Zhang must immediately delete the information concerning Wang posted on WeChat Moments, issue an apology statement to Wang on his Moments, and compensate Wang 1,000 yuan for mental distress.

Civil Code of the People's Republic of China

Article 1000

Where a person bears civil liability such as eliminating the impact, restoring reputation, or making an apology due to infringement of personality rights, the liability shall be commensurate with the specific manner of the act and the scope of the impact caused. If the person refuses to bear the civil liability as specified in the preceding paragraph, the people's court may enforce it by means such as publishing an announcement in newspapers, online media, or publishing the effective judgment document, with the costs borne by the person.

Article 1024

Civil subjects enjoy the right to reputation. No organization or individual may infringe upon others' right to reputation by means of insult, defamation, or otherwise.

　The author's view

The advancement of network technology and the rise of self-media platforms have further expanded the space for free expression of opinions. Under lawful premises, individuals freely expressing their opinions will not harm the legitimate rights and interests of others. However, the right to free speech online also has boundaries, being both protected and constrained by law.

Online spaces such as WeChat Moments are not beyond the reach of the law. When expressing opinions on social networking platforms, one must strictly abide by national laws, regulations, and online behavioral norms, and must not seek momentary verbal gratification, which ultimately harms both oneself and others. At the same time, when infringed upon, one should learn to use legal weapons to reasonably protect their rights.