Research on the Criminal Imputation Path of Network Service Providers

Abstract

Network service providers have taken on a more prominent part in the process of Internet governance in recent years as one of the important subjects of cyberspace. Criminal justice dilemmas like ambiguous semantics of network service providers, a failure to distinguish between different types of network service providers, and difficulties in convicting network service providers frequently arise when it becomes necessary to assess the criminal law of network service providers. In this paper, the author analyzes the reasons behind the dilemma through the legal norm analysis method, such as the diversification of network services and the high-speed development trend of network technology, the difficulty of unifying the classification standards, and the large differences in the types of network services, and the controversial application of new crimes. Based on this, with reference to the relevant provisions of foreign countries, and based on the existing legal environment in China, network service providers should be divided into two types from the subjective and objective aspects. At the same time, the specific semantics, scope of obligations, and scope of criminal imputation under their respective types should be clarified in order to achieve a more reasonable and feasible path of criminal liability fixation, so as to help the judicial authorities define the subject of network service providers more efficiently, and conviction and sentencing more accurately.