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Forwarding obscene content to contacts on platforms such as WeChat is illegal, and group chat administrators may face criminal liability if they allow the spread of pornographic material, under China's revised Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security, which will take effect on January 1, 2026.

Article 80 of the revised law specified rules on spreading obscene contents and enhanced punishment on such violations. 

In one case heard by a county-level court in Huizhou, South China's Guangdong Province, a defendant surnamed Lu forwarded 54 obscene video clips to his WeChat contacts using his mobile phone. 

The court ruled that although Lu did not act for profit, his repeated dissemination of obscene videos via instant messaging software constituted serious violations, harmed public morality and social order, and amounted to the crime of disseminating obscene materials, Nanfang Daily reported.

Chat group administrators may also be held accountable under criminal charges for lax management. In another case heard at a court in Qingyuan, Guangdong Province, which sparked widespread online discussion, three QQ group administrators - surnamed Mao, Xie and Liu - allowed members of a 447-person group to upload more than 221 obscene videos, per the report. 

The three were sentenced 10 months to one year for failing to fulfill management duties and indulging the spread of obscene contents, which constitute the crime of disseminating obscene materials. 

According to Nanfang Daily, a local media outlet in Guangdong Province, cases involving online obscene content handled in the province show that the ways such material is being spread are becoming increasingly diverse - from sharing in group chats and private messages to more organized practices such as group-funded purchases, website distribution and profit-making livestreams. Those cases involve both administrative violations and criminal offenses, showing legal consequences corresponding to different types of conduct. 

The revised law corrects a long-standing public misconception that private sharing of obscene content is merely a moral issue rather than a legal one. Notably, sending explicit photos or videos even if in private chats, once reported and verified, may lead to legal penalties, per the report on the WeChat account of Nanfang Daily. 

The revised Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security places particular emphasis on cases involving minors. Article 80 stipulates heavier penalties when the obscene materials or information involve minors, aligning with the "best interests of the child" principle under China's Law on the Protection of Minors and providing enhanced legal safeguards.

Judicial practice has already reflected this tougher stance. In a case disclosed by the Jiangsu Provincial People's Procuratorate on May 29, 2025, a suspect surnamed Feng sent obscene videos to nearly 100 primary and middle school girls. Feng was convicted of rape, child molestation and disseminating obscene materials, and sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison with multiple charges combined, the report said.

Global Times