June 15-21
China
The Supreme People’s Court (SPC) released five typical civil cases related to online purchasing, specifically: false advertising and misleading practices, failure to implement the “seven day returns for no reason” policy, disputes over refunds for concert tickets, and excessive collection of consumer data. The SPC called on judges to step up efforts to protect consumers’ rights in cyberspace.
The SPC also publicized six typical cases on a range of subjects, including the first decision by a Chinese court involving AI voice generation. The court held that using a person’s voice without consent for AI generation of audio data is a personality right infringement. Other cases in this batch involve the illegal sale of facial recognition data, unauthorized access to home surveillance systems, personal release of reward advertisement to collect other people’s unlawful activity information.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate publicized provisional guidance on handling public interest litigation involving cultural relics (文物保护领域检察公益诉讼办案指引（试行）). The document provides, among other things, detailed definition of such terms as “serious damage“ and “risks of serious damage” in civil and administrative lawsuits brought by the procuratorate.
US President Donald Trump signed an executive order granting TikTok another 90-day reprieve from enforcement of The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. The law, which took effect in January 2025, bans the short video platform in the US unless it splits with its Beijing-based owner, ByteDance.
Hong Kong
Meta sued Hong Kong-based Joy Timeline HK Limited to keep it from advertising its CrushAI app on Meta platforms. The app uses AI to create fake nude images of people without their consent. Meta said it has repeatedly removed CrushAI ads because they violate Meta rules, but Joy Timeline has made multiple attempts to circumvent the ad review process. Meta said its lawsuit is part of broader action against so-called “nudify” apps.
High Court Judge Yvonne Cheng allowed a construction company involved in multiple fatal accidents to keep its license pending an appeal against the government’s decision to de-register the firm. Aggressive Construction Company Limited (ACCL), a subsidiary of Great Harvest Group, has been involved in a series of construction site incidents that resulted in a total of five deaths.
Secretary for Justice Paul Lam said the Hong Kong courts’ use of overseas non-permanent judges is still effective and that what matters is not their number but whether the judges have “a good international reputation.” Hong Kong’s top court currently has six overseas judges, down from a peak of 15. Lam also dismissed Hong Kong’s fall in the World Justice Project’s rule of law index as not reflecting reality.
Japan
The upper chamber of Japan’s parliament, the House of Councillors, approved a bill banning advertisements for online casino sites. The bill, which has already been approved by the lower house, will be promulgated by the end of June 2025 and take effect three months later. Online casino sites are already illegal but nonetheless are popular.
The Tokyo District Court ordered the Japanese government to pay a total of 1.2 million yen ($8,260 USD) in compensation to two asylum seekers, one from Turkey and one from Iran, who were repeatedly detained and released by Japan's immigration agency over more than a decade without consideration of their physical and mental health. The court said the repeated detentions violated international and domestic law.
Koreas
South Korea’s revised traffic law took effect, banning “post-crash drinking.” This refers to drinking alcohol after a crash in order to interfere with a blood alcohol test. The new law criminalizes such behavior and imposes up to six year of prison and hefty fines. The law also applies to riders of bicycles and e-scooters, who face smaller but immediate fines for obstructing alcohol testing.
Police are investigating a man accused of using an electric stun device to kill 120 dogs and storing their bodies in a freezer warehouse. The man reportedly acknowledged killing the dogs but did not explain his purpose. He may face charges under the Animal Protection Act. In 2024, the legislature approved a law that criminalizes killing dogs or selling dog meat, but it does not take effect until 2027.
Thousands paraded in Seoul for the 26th annual Queer Culture Festival. They were met with jeers from Christian protesters, but the two groups did not clash. Newly elected President Lee Jae-myung has not explicitly stated his position on LGBT issues, but his election has led to optimism among some in the community that the government will be more friendly than the previous conservative administration.
Taiwan
The Taipei Prosecutors’ Office said they are investigating Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Cheng Cheng-chien (鄭正鈐) following a whistle-blower’s claim that Cheng accepted funding from the Chinese Communist Party and leaked confidential government information to China. Cheng also is accused of inflating his assistant’s salaries, failing to provide them with labor and health insurance as required by law, using government vehicles for personal purposes, and asking police to drive him to election campaigns and anti-recall campaigns. The investigation focuses on whether Cheng violated the Political Donations Act (政治獻金法), National Security Act (國家安全法) and Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例).
The opposition-controlled legislature advanced a proposal to file an administrative lawsuit against the Central Election Commission. The lawsuit would challenge the commission’s refusal to hold a referendum on whether judges should be allowed to impose the death penalty without a unanimous verdict. The commission said it rejected the proposal because it contradicted a Constitutional Court ruling that requires unanimous decisions for death sentences.
The opposition Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), with support from the KMT, proposed a constitutional amendment to abolish the Control Yuan and transfer its audit power to the Legislative Yuan. Such a move would give the legislature oversight of the Executive Yuan’s accounting and finances. The TPP has long sought to abolish the Control Yuan, accusing it of power abuse and self-interest. Constitutional amendments are extremely difficult to achieve, requiring approval of three-fourths of the legislators and a majority of eligible voters.