一名"00后"员工小刘因在微信朋友圈发表贬损言论遭前老板老蔡起诉[1]。小刘使用"40岁老登""一股老人味"等措辞评价老蔡，并虚构职场骚扰、欠薪、逼迫离职等信息[1]。老蔡要求小刘删除相关内容、公开道歉并赔偿5000余元[1]。
小刘辩称朋友圈设置了"仅前同事可见"和"三天可见"隐私保护，传播范围有限[1]。上海市浦东新区人民法院经审理认定，分组设置仅能缩小传播人群但无法完全隔绝第三方浏览，而三天可见仅缩短留存时间，无法消除已经扩散的负面印象[1]。法院明确指出，朋友圈的隐私设置无法免除侮辱诽谤的违法属性[1]。法官吴宜卉表示，网络"玩梗"当指向现实特定个人时可能转变为人格贬损，存在侵权风险[1]。
经过调解，小刘在朋友圈发布道歉声明，双方达成和解[1]，小刘已全部履行完毕[1]。
A dispute over insulting remarks posted in a WeChat Moments feed has resulted in a court ruling that clarifies the limits of privacy protections in social media.[1] A young employee surnamed Liu, described as post-2000s generation, faced legal action after posting derogatory comments about his former boss Cai in his WeChat Moments.[1] Liu used phrases such as "a 40-year-old fossil" and "smelling like an old person," and fabricated allegations including workplace harassment, wage withholding, and forced resignation.[1]
The Pudong District People's Court of Shanghai determined that Liu's statements exceeded the bounds of reasonable expression and potentially violated defamation laws.[1] Cai sought removal of the posts, a public apology, and compensation of over 5,000 yuan.[1] Liu argued that his privacy settings—restricting visibility to former colleagues only and limiting the content to a three-day display window—minimized the reach and impact of his remarks.[1] However, the court rejected this defense, ruling that group-based access controls only reduce the audience size but cannot completely prevent third-party viewing, while the three-day visibility restriction merely shortens retention time without eliminating negative impressions already disseminated.[1]
Judge Wu Yihui emphasized that internet slang and memes targeting specific real individuals can constitute personal degradation with legal liability risks.[1] The case was ultimately resolved through mediation, with Liu publishing an apology statement in his Moments feed and fully complying with the settlement terms.[1]
