He was entirely unable to contain himself, "I must have heard wrong just now, it sounded like they were talking about the police station? Shouldn't it be over at Old Mi's: 'FBI, open the door'? Even someone who's never been there like me knows that."
No sooner had he finished speaking than he heard Idle Clouds and Wild Cranes shouted from across the way, "Wait for me, I've got something going on, some friends of mine have come to see me, I'll show you all later."
After saying that, he directly exited the live broadcast. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novel★fire.net
Of course, Jin Xintian inside the rental room was a bit dumbfounded, wondering why the police station was looking for him.
He quickly opened the door, and two police officers stood there.
"You're Jin Xintian, correct? According to the Linshan District Court's notice, you are suspected of defamation and are now being summoned according to the law, this is the summons, please come with us."
Jin Xintian responded, "I, I haven't committed any defamation crime, what even is a defamation crime?"
While speaking, he inexplicably recalled the warning issued by Tang Fangjing about slander and insult, but... that was online!
In Jin Xintian's view, the internet and reality are two different worlds. Could things online really make their way into the real world?
But now, the police in front of him had left him quite bewildered.
"Did you or did you not say online that Lawyer Tang in Jingzhou was in cahoots with the court? You didn't know anything at all, but you still made such claims online, and the likes exceeded twenty thousand," the police officer said.
"Lawyer Tang has now initiated a private prosecution, and you should expect to receive the indictment soon. That's enough, come back with us for an investigation."
What? Hearing this, Jin Xintian was genuinely frightened; could online affairs really translate into the real world, and what's more, be criminal matters?
"No, Officer, I was just playing around online, just joking, I don't know anything, really, it was all just a joke, please don't arrest me, alright?"
"I realize my mistake now, I really do..."
As he said this, Jin Xintian's face was covered in tears. He was scared; he could act tough online, but in reality, he had never been brave.
Especially now that it involved criminal charges, something that could mean going to jail, and he didn't want to go to jail!
However, in front of law enforcement, crying was the most useless response.
The key issue was that he was crying and struggling at the same time, since he usually encountered friendly police and subconsciously didn't think much of it.
Then he was pinned down by an officer, and his wrist suddenly felt cold.
At that moment, Jin Xintian calmed down but was more frightened than ever inside, wondering what to do, what could he do?
The same situation also unfolded in Hanbei Province and Hanxi Province. Almost everyone became stunned upon learning they were the subject of a private prosecution.
Could just saying a few words online actually be a crime?
That's why there's a saying "rumors start with a word, debunking them breaks our legs"; it's exactly because of this—Old Tang wanted to protect his rights but had to put in ten times the effort.
It was lucky for Old Tang that his situation was peculiar; he didn't need a lawyer, which saved a great deal of expense.
And fortunately, Old Tang was somewhat invulnerable, or else becoming the target of severe online backlash would have been the only outcome.
The Capital still continuously handed down sentences, as though it were merely following procedures, when suddenly, a piece of news shocked the entire internet!
"You know about that Tang Fangjing from Jingzhou, right? He had issued a warning earlier; it mentioned over a thousand netizens. He meant it; there's word that he has filed over a thousand lawsuits against the TikTok platform in The Capital!"
"He's seeking to obtain the information of those netizens and then sue them individually. It's said some have already received the private prosecution indictments!"
What? Over a thousand lawsuits; this number completely stunned the netizens.
Because from the past until now, there has never been such a massive scale of litigation for rights protection!
Immediately, legal experts came forward, "Over a thousand lawsuits, and if rights are to be pursued further, there might be over a thousand more cases. This way of protecting rights is a tremendous waste of judicial resources!"
"Tang Fangjing could have resolved the issue through other means, such as reporting to the platform and deleting the offensive comments. Why must he resort to lawsuits?"
"How many people can't get a court date for their cases, yet he alone initiates so many lawsuits. What's the point? Just to make himself feel better?"
Accompanied by the commentary of various people, the event went viral with astonishing speed, becoming a trending topic.
Now, the law firms in Jingzhou were shocked; had Lawyer Tang gone completely mad?