英语新闻 | 注意！你发的每一个表情符号都有可能成为“呈堂证供”

英语新闻|注意！你发的每一个表情符号都有可能成为“呈堂证供”

If your business partner sends you an OK emoji when you ask for an opinion about a contract, how would you understand its meaning? Does it signal agreement with the contract, or just that the message was received?

如果你在征求商业伙伴对合同的意见时，对方发了一个OK的表情符号，你会如何理解它的含义？它是表示同意合同内容，还是仅仅表示已收到消息？

People may have different understandings of the emoji, which is frequently used in online chats, and misinterpretations may result in disputes and have an impact on court rulings.

人们对线上聊天中使用的表情符号可能有不同的理解，误解会导致纠纷并影响法院的裁决。

Given that emojis may easily cause ambiguity, judicial and internet professionals suggest people use them prudently in online chats, especially when discussing contracts or conducting transactions.

鉴于表情符号很容易引起歧义，司法和互联网专业人士建议人们在线上聊天中谨慎使用它们，尤其是在讨论合同或进行交易时。

Over the past five years, Chinese courts have handled 158 lawsuits involving online expressions, according to a statement recently posted by Jiangsu Provincial High People's Court on its WeChat account. It said the number of such cases rose from just eight in 2018 to 61 last year.

根据江苏高院发文科普表示，2018年以来，全国共有158起以表情符号作为证据的案件，从2018年的8件到2021年61件，增幅明显。

Emojis, stickers and memes－collectively known as biaoqingbao in Chinese－have long been a part of the social media lexicon, but interpreting them from a legal perspective is sometimes challenging, said Zhao Zhanling, a legal adviser for the Internet Society of China.

中国互联网协会的法律顾问赵占领表示，表情符号、贴纸和表情包长期以来都是社交媒体词汇的一部分，但从法律角度解读它们有时很有挑战性。

"The meaning behind some emojis may vary from one user to another, and this confuses judges sometimes," he added.

“一些表情符号背后的含义可能因用户而异，这有时会让法官感到困惑，”他补充道。

"It may be difficult to identify content, including texts, sounds and online expressions, that cannot be accurately interpreted, as evidence in civil cases."

“在民事案件中，可能很难将无法准确解释的内容（包括文本、声音和在线表达）识别为证据。”

For example, in a recent case heard by the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong province, judges did not recognize an icon depicting the OK hand gesture in a contract lawsuit as legally binding, regarding it as a visual element to convey litigants' emotions during online chats rather than evidence of them agreeing to the terms, according to the Jiangsu court's statement.

例如，在广东省广州市中级人民法院最近审理的一起案件中，据江苏法院的声明称，法官不认为合同诉讼中描绘OK手势的图标具有法律约束力，认为其是在网上聊天时传达当事人情感的视觉元素。

But in a loan dispute in Xiamen, Fujian province, judges there recognized a similar emoji as evidence of litigants' agreement to the terms, it added.

但声明指出，在福建省厦门市的一起贷款纠纷中，法官认定了一个类似的表情符号作为诉讼当事人同意条款的证据。

Zhu Wei, an associate professor at the China University of Political Science and Law, highlighted the importance of context in verifying the meaning of online expressions, but he said that it would still be inappropriate to deem those emojis as key evidence in lawsuits.

中国政法大学副教授朱巍强调了上下文语境在验证网络表达含义方面的重要性，但他表示，将这些表情符号视为诉讼中的关键证据仍然不合适。

"It's hard to figure out the exact meaning of emojis when someone may only be using them as a symbol of politeness or making a reply without carefully reading the content," he said.

他说：“当有人可能只是将表情符号用作礼貌的象征或在没有仔细阅读内容的情况下做出回复时，很难弄清楚表情符号的确切含义。”

"For instance, a vendor previously invited me to buy something in a new shop via text messages, and I replied with a smiley face emoji. Several days later, the business owner contacted me again online, asking me why I had not visited the store," he recalled.

“比如，之前一位卖家通过发送信息邀请我去他新开的商店买东西，我发了一个笑脸表情作为回复。几天后，店主又在网上联系我，问我为什么没有去那家店”，他回忆说。

"The vendor didn't understand my usage of the emoji. He thought it meant I would come to the shop, but actually it was just my way of expressing thanks for his invitation," he said. "So, I don't think it's good to reply with emojis when dealing with contracts or transactions online. The meaning may be more ambiguous."

他表示：“卖家不理解我使用的表情符号。他认为这意味着我会来商店，但实际上是我在感谢他的邀请。所以，我觉得在网上处理合同或交易的时候，用表情符号回复不是一个好的选择，其含义可能比较模糊。”

In Zhu's view, such online expressions can serve as auxiliary proof to help judges verify facts, as it is not practical to interpret the nuances of emojis in this fast-paced life.

在朱巍看来，这样的表情符号可以作为辅助证据，帮助法官核实事实，因为在快节奏的生活中，解读表情符号的细微差别是不切实际的。

"Simply put, emojis are difficult to verify as independent or key evidence, though Chinese courts have long recognized chat records in messaging apps and social media posts as digital evidence for civil lawsuits," he added.

“简而言之，表情符号很难作为独立或关键性证据进行验证，尽管我国法院长期以来一直将信息应用程序和社交媒体帖子中的聊天记录视为民事诉讼的数字证据，”他补充说。

But Zhao and Zhu clarified that emojis should not be used as a cipher in violations or even criminal activities.

但赵占领和朱巍都表示，表情符号不应该成为违法行为甚至犯罪活动的密码。

The Jiangsu high court also called for netizens to use emojis to express their ideas online in a sensible manner. It said that using someone's portraits, facial expressions or gestures as stickers should not infringe upon their legitimate rights.

江苏高院还呼吁网友们理智地使用表情符号在网上表达自己的想法，并且使用某人的肖像、面部表情或手势作为表情符号时，不应侵犯其合法权益。

While confirming some people have been found to use emojis to mask illegal activity in online chats, the high court suggested netizens be wary of stickers sent to them from strangers, adding this may be a deceptive act by fraudsters.

虽然确实存在一些人使用表情符号来掩盖网络聊天中的非法活动，但高等法院建议网民要警惕陌生人发出的表情符号，因为这可能是骗子的欺诈行为。

ambiguity

英[ˌæmbɪˈɡjuːəti]；美[ˌæmbɪˈɡjuːəti]

n.歧义; 不明确，模棱两可; 暧昧

depict

英[dɪˈpɪkt]；美[dɪˈpɪkt]

v.描绘，描画; 描述

ambiguous

英[æmˈbɪɡjuəs]；美[æmˈbɪɡjuəs]

adj.模棱两可的; 不明确的; 捉摸不定的

auxiliary

英[ɔːɡˈzɪliəri]；美[ɔːɡˈzɪliəri]

adj.辅助的; 备用的

n.助动词; 辅助人员; 附属机构

legitimate

英[lɪˈdʒɪtɪmət]；美[lɪˈdʒɪtɪmət]

adj.合法的，合理的; 正规的; 合法婚姻所生的; 真正的，真实的