According to reports, China has reported 158 cases where emojis have been recognized as evidence in courts in the past five years. The information was provided by a court in Jiangsu province with the number of cases linked to emojis and stickers rising from eight in 2018 to 61 last year.
The use of emojis has shot up exponentially among the youth in China, according to a report. Chinese courts have recognized the use of chats and social media posts as evidence in court. They are doing this even as the Jiangsu court informed that the use of emojis has shot up in many provinces.
How are the courts using it?
Reports claimed the emojis are subjective in nature with the true meaning sometimes difficult to understand. The development comes as Chinese authorities recently asked live streamers to “maintain the right tone in political orientation, public communication and actively embody core socialist values”.
Livestreamers with the power to instantly influence web users have become a challenge for authorities regulating the internet. Moreover, Chinese authorities have been cracking down on big tech in the country including Tencent, Alibaba, and other tech giants. Western internet firms have also been targeted as authorities seek to control the net.
“One intermediate court in the southern city of Shenzhen recognized a response using a sun emoji as an endorsement of extending the lease in a rental dispute.” the Sixth Tone website said in a report on how emojis were being used as proof in courts. Adding to it, “A county court in the eastern Anhui province stated in 2020 that an icon referring to the OK hand gesture didn’t constitute evidence for the acknowledgment of a loan contract.”
Chinese courts have taken cognizance of emojis in at least 158 cases filed across the country since 2018. Moreover, the number of cases where lawyers presented emojis as evidence rose from eight in 2018 to 61 in 2021. Also, there were 23 such cases in 2019, and the highest so far, 66 in 2021.