Guidelines expanding the definition of digital evidence from China’s Ministry of Public Security, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate have made suspects’ social media posts acceptable in court starting Oct. 1, Caixin reports. The order allows law enforcement to access information from messaging apps like WeChat with a search warrant, the report states. “It has authorized law enforcement agencies to access information stored on corporate computer servers to assist criminal investigations,” the report states. “Courts already accept certain forms of digital evidence such as screen grabs of webpages and mobile text messages as valid evidence in criminal trials.” While the guidelines reference an individual’s right to privacy, they do not specify “punishments for breaches of privacy that law enforcement officials commit during an investigation,” the report adds.
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