The Hsinchu District Court on Wednesday last week rejected a NT$1.6 million (US$50,721) defamation claim by a teacher surnamed Chen (陳) who was removed from an unnamed Line group chat after a moderator called him a “one-night stand kind of guy” and said he sent sexually suggestive messages to women in the group.
A woman surnamed Yang (楊) in 2024 said in the group chat that Chen is “widely recognized as a guy who does one-night stands” and “my group is not a tool for you to pick up women,” which Chen claimed was insulting and derogatory.
Yang also posted screenshots of his private conservations with women from the chat, which included personal information such as his marital status, height and weight, profile photo, full-body photo and physical characteristics, Chen said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Chen said that Yang said: “this is a public trial for everyone to see” and “I am publicly shaming him,” which amounted to intimidation, before she removed him from the group and infringed on his right to social participation.
Chen filed a lawsuit last year seeking NT$1.6 million in damages for emotional distress.
The court said that Chen had sent inappropriate, explicit videos to women in the group chat, and ruled that the comments against him were valid, and removing him from the group chat was to protect other members.
Yang said she made the comments to protect group members due to Chen’s alleged harassment.
Chen engaged in inappropriate behavior by sending explicit messages and videos, and harassing multiple female members, contravening group rules banning pornographic content, sexualized conversations and harassment, Yang said.
His behavior prompted complaints from several members, who later left the group, she added.
Another woman in the group said she was surprised when Chen privately messaged her with inappropriate images, the court said.
The woman said he continued sending such content even after being removed and rejoining the group, including a video titled: “Live to old age, have sex to old age” and a link claiming “12 benefits of sex that can make you younger,” it said.
The group moderator removed him again and blocked him due to repeated complaints, it added.
Yang’s statements about Chen and decision to remove him from the group were based on prior reports from multiple members that he had privately messaged them and sent sexually suggestive messages, images or video links, the court said.
Yang’s actions were grounded in reasonable verification and supporting evidence, and as such did not constitute unlawful defamation, it said.
Her actions were aimed at managing the group and safeguarding other members, the court said, dismissing the case.
While defendants accused of exposing others’ personal information and shaming them online are often found guilty, in this case the court found that Yang’s handling of Chen’s personal data met exemptions under the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法).
The act stipulates that when non-governmental entities collect or handle personal data, they must have a specific purpose and the data must be voluntarily disclosed, lawfully made public, necessary to promote public interest or obtained from publicly available sources, the court said.
The personal information posted by Yang in the group chat, including Chen’s weight and height, had been voluntarily shared by Chen to other chat members, and it was not sufficient to identity Chen in daily life, it said.
Yang posted Chen’s chat records in the group to protect the rights of other members and prevent him from continuing privately sending sexually suggestive and inappropriate messages to female members, the court ruled.
In addition, the full-body photo Yang posted had been uploaded by Chen himself on the Line platform as his public account background image and could be seen by anyone who viewed his profile, so it was hard to see how Yang had infringed on his privacy rights, it added.
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