New regulation adjusts jurisdiction of internet courts

Starting from November, disputes involving data ownership, privacy protection, virtual property infringement, and unfair competition in cyberspace will be uniformly handled by internet courts, according to a new regulation.

The Supreme People's Court, China's top court, announced the adjustment to the jurisdiction of internet courts on Saturday.

This adjustment aims to advance the rule of law in cyberspace governance by adjudicating various new types of internet-related cases, the top court said.

It added that the adjustment is also aimed at encouraging internet courts to focus on adjudicating new, cutting-edge, and complex cases that are closely related to the digital economy.

Now, China has three internet courts, namely in Beijing, Hangzhou of Zhejiang province, and Guangzhou of Guangdong province.

These courts were established to face the fast-developing internet age, and they specialize in handling internet-related cases, such as e-commerce disputes and online copyright infringements.

While addressing new legal challenges in the internet era, the courts have also played a big role in exploring how to handle disputes through online methods and helping optimize the rules of online litigation.