Analyzing the “Intrusiveness” and “Destructiveness” of Different Types of Game Cheating Programs

Abstract

According to China’s criminal law, the production and sale of online game cheating programs are often charged of “providing special programs specially used for intruding into computer information system”. And they are also sometimes charged of “deliberately creates or propagates computer virus and other destructive programs”. Some types of game cheating programs such as “injection game cheating program” meet the criterion of “intruding into computer information system” in the Criminal Law, while other types of game cheating programs such as “offline game cheating program” do not. The “Destructiveness” of game cheating programs should be analyzed according to specific game cheating program and the legal interests it embodied in computer information systems. It should be determined on the basis of legislator’s intention, rather than directly use the criterion of evaluating the “destructiveness” of programs in computer science.