The Civil Code of the People's Republic of China went into effect 1 Jan., China Daily reports. The code prohibits organizations from sending spam messages via text messages, phone calls and emails, as well as various surveillance activities. "It's the first time that a law defines what privacy is," Haidian District People's Court Judge Chen Changyi said. "In the past it was too vague, and that often gave us difficulties in case hearings and rulings."