When the Civil Code came into formal effect on the first day of 2021, we ushered in a milestone moment for the protection of civil rights. In this year, "raising children in accordance with the law" became a new trend, and the Family Education Promotion Law elevated family affairs to national affairs; in this year, the chaotic phenomena in the "fan circle" encountered the "Clear and Bright" campaign, and cyberspace is no longer a lawless territory; in this year, the three-child policy was incorporated into law, and the "double reduction" policy was implemented. The rule of law is profoundly reshaping our way of life.This was a year when the law entered thousands of households.

I. The Formal Implementation of the Civil Code: China's First "Code" in the New Era Ushered in a New Era of Rights Protection

"The encyclopedia of social life has moved from paper to reality."

【Event Review】

Starting from January 1, 2021, theCivil Code of the People's Republic of Chinaofficially came into force. This is the first law named "Code" since the founding of the People's Republic of China, consisting of 7 volumes, 1260 articles and more than 100,000 characters, covering all aspects of social life. The Civil Code has systematically integrated the civil legal norms formed through long-term practice over 70 years, and has responded one by one to socially concerned issues such as "sexual harassment", "personal information protection", "housing security for vulnerable groups", and "how to pursue liability for high-altitude parabolic objects".

With the formal implementation of the Civil Code, the Marriage Law, Inheritance Law, General Principles of the Civil Law, Adoption Law, Guaranty Law, Contract Law, Property Law, Tort Liability Law, and General Principles of the Civil Law currently in effect in China were abolished simultaneously.

【Lu Heng's Opinion】

The formal implementation of the Civil Code is the most dazzling milestone in the construction of the rule of law in China in 2021. From a legal perspective, the implementation of the Civil Code marks that the protection of civil rights in China has entered a new era.

For the "urban tumor" of high-altitude parabolic objects, the Civil Code clearly stipulates that throwing objects from buildings is prohibited, and requires public security organs and other relevant departments to conduct investigations in a timely manner in accordance with the law to identify the responsible persons. In response to chaotic phenomena such as "routine loans" and "campus loans", the Civil Code explicitly prohibits usurious lending, and the borrowing interest rate shall not violate the relevant provisions of the state.

The independent compilation of personality rights further demonstrates humanistic care, strengthens the protection of privacy and personal information, and responds to the new challenges faced by the protection of personality rights in the Internet era. With all regions effectively promoting the implementation of the Civil Code, it will better advance the comprehensive rule of law, build a socialist country under the rule of law, and better protect the rights and interests of the people.

II. The Adoption of the Personal Information Protection Law: A Declaration of Rights in the Digital Age

"I have control over my information - a fundamental right in the digital age."

【Event Review】

On August 20, 2021, the 30th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress voted to adopt the Personal Information Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, which came into force on November 1, 2021. This law, together with the Cybersecurity Law and the Data Security Law, has jointly constructed the legal framework for cybersecurity and data governance in China.

In 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology continued to carry out special rectification actions against APPs that infringe on users' rights and interests. Throughout the year, it inspected a total of 1.17 million APPs, put forward rectification requirements for 4,002 non-compliant APPs, publicly notified 1,248 APPs that failed to rectify effectively, and organized the removal of 329 APPs that refused to rectify. From May to August, four ministries and commissions including the Cyberspace Administration of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Administration for Market Regulation organized and carried out a centralized governance of the black industry chain of camera peeping nationwide.

【Lu Heng's Opinion】

The adoption of the Personal Information Protection Law is a major achievement in data security legislation in 2021. The law clarifies the core rules for the processing of personal information, endows individuals with the right to control their information, and at the same time stipulates the legal liability for illegal processing of personal information.

In 2021, judicial organs also took tough measures against crimes of infringing on citizens' personal information. In the Taobao data crawling case concluded by the People's Court of Suiyang District, Shangqiu City, two defendants were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of three years and six months and three years and three months respectively for crawling 1.18 billion pieces of Taobao customer information.

"I have control over my information" - there must be boundaries for data acquisition, and the protection of personal information is urgent.

III. Rectification of "Clear and Bright · Chaos in the Fan Circle": Legal Governance of Cyberspace

"Let traffic return to reality, and let fans return to rationality."

【Event Review】

In June 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China launched the "Clear and Bright · Rectification of Chaos in the 'Fan Circle'" special campaign. For a period of time, problems such as mutual abuse, support and ranking, rumor-mongering and attacks among fan groups in the "fan circle" have been common, damaging the clear cyberspace ecology and adversely affecting the physical and mental health of minors.

The special campaign targeted prominent problems in the online "fan circle" and focused on cracking down on 5 types of chaos:

• Inducing minors to participate in support fundraising, high consumption, and voting for rankings
• Mutual abuse, belittling to incite conflicts, rumor-mongering and attacks, doxxing, and infringement of privacy among fans
• Comparing wealth and showing off luxury, indulging in pleasure
• Brushing data and controlling comments by calling on fans, hiring online water armies, or "raising accounts"
• Interfering with public opinion by "cashing in on hot topics" or creating topics

In August 2021, the State Administration for Market Regulation and other departments jointly issued the "Notice on Further Strengthening the Governance of Chaos in the 'Fan Circle'", further compressing the platform's responsibilities.

【Lu Heng's Opinion】

The essence of the chaos in the "fan circle" is the distorted fan economy under the coercion of capital. From a legal perspective:

• Inducing minors to participate in support fundraising and high consumption is suspected of violating the Minor Protection Law
• Mutual abuse and rumor-mongering attacks among fans may constitute infringement of reputation rights or even the crime of defamation
• Doxxing and infringement of privacy directly violate the Personal Information Protection Law
• Hiring online water armies to brush data and control comments is suspected of unfair competition

This campaign of cleaning up cyberspace has promoted the sound development of "fan circle" culture and jointly built a civilized and healthy spiritual home online.

IV. Incorporation of the Three-Child Birth Policy into Law: Legal Guarantee for Population Development

"From controlling growth to optimizing structure, the legal transformation of population policy."

【Event Review】

On July 20, 2021, the "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council on Optimizing the Birth Policy to Promote the Long-term Balanced Development of the Population" was released, making a major decision to implement the three-child birth policy and supporting measures, opening a new stage of population development in China.

On August 20, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress adopted the decision on amending the Population and Family Planning Law of the People's Republic of China, revising the first paragraph of Article 18 to: "The state advocates marriage and childbearing at an appropriate age, and eugenics and good parenting. A couple may have three children."

The revised Population and Family Planning Law also stipulates that the state shall take supporting measures such as fiscal, tax, insurance, education, housing, and employment to reduce the burden of family birth, upbringing and education. The decision proposes to cancel social maintenance fees and other restrictive measures, clean up and abolish relevant penalty provisions, and completely decouple household registration, enrollment, employment and other matters from personal fertility status.

【Lu Heng's Opinion】

The formal incorporation of the three-child birth policy into law is a major event in the field of social law in 2021. With the amendment of the Population and Family Planning Law, various regions have successively announced supporting measures for the three-child policy, extending or increasing maternity leave, parental leave, paternity leave, etc.

According to incomplete statistics, 20 regions across the country have adopted the newly revised "Population and Family Planning Regulations" and clearly extended relevant maternity leave. Multiple provinces including Gansu, Anhui, Guangxi, and Tianjin have included the cost of having a third child in medical insurance.

This series of supporting measures reflects the country's institutional sincerity in encouraging childbirth, and also marks a major transformation of China's population policy from controlling growth to optimizing structure.

V. Implementation of the "Double Reduction" Policy: Legal Escort for Educational Equity