In the world of online gaming, real-time communication through chat rooms, voice calls, and other channels has become routine. In team-based games, players may inevitably criticize or insult each other when mistakes occur or strategies differ. But can this kind of behavior constitute public insult? If someone only insults a game ID without naming a real person, is that still unlawful? This article explains the possible legal liabilities arising from insults in online games, as well as the practical difficulties that may arise when filing a complaint.

Can insulting someone in an online game constitute public insult?

Yes. Under  Article 309, Paragraph 1 of Taiwan’s Criminal Code, a person who publicly insults another may be subject to short-term imprisonment or a fine of up to NT$9,000.

In practice, the main elements for establishing public insult are generally as follows:

1. The words or conduct must be made “publicly,” meaning in a setting where an indefinite number of people or multiple people may see or hear them.

2. The words or conduct must be insulting in nature, meaning they do not assert specific facts but purely degrade another person's dignity, such as calling someone “trash,”,“idiot,” or “retarded.”

3. The victim must be a legally identifiable “person”.

If a person uses insulting words in a public chat room, group voice call, or another situation where multiple people can see or hear the statement, and improperly insults or belittles another person, this may constitute public insult. A later explanation such as “it was just a joke” or “trash talk” does not necessarily exempt the speaker from liability.

 If no name is mentioned in the game, can public insult still be established?

Possibly. If other people can infer the victim's real identity from the overall conversation or context, even without an express mention of the person's real name or game ID, a court may still find that there was a specific target of the insult. If the other legal elements are also met, public insult may still be established.

If only a game nickname is insulted, rather than a real name, is the reputation of a virtual character protected?

This has long been a disputed issue in practice. The key question is whether the account or character can be connected to a real-world person.

Practical view: connection and identifiability

Courts have held that if a virtual persona has a sufficient “connection” or “identifiability” with a real-world person, insulting the virtual persona may have the same legal effect as insulting the person directly. The reason is that game characters, social media nicknames, and other virtual identities may carry the user's accumulated reputation and personal image within a particular community; they are not necessarily completely detached from real life.

Several practical cases are worth noting:

• Shilin District Court Civil Judgment No. 936 of 2014：The court stated that “an alias used on Facebook represents an individual’s marker in the online world, also carries a certain evaluation within the virtual online world, and can be connected to the personality of the individual using that alias.” The court held that even if an alias is used, if the conduct causes a decrease in social reputation, it may still constitute a tort.

• Taiwan High Court Criminal Judgment No. 1201 of 2016：The court stated that “nicknames, aliases, or accounts in online games are operated and given meaning by real-world persons behind them... If the actor recognizes that the virtual character is operated by a real-world person and foresees that the insulting conduct is sufficient to lower the online community's evaluation of that online avatar... the actor should bear criminal liability for public insult.”

What circumstances make a complaint more likely to succeed?

Based on the above, the affirmative view is not applied unconditionally in practice. Courts are more likely to find liability when one of the following circumstances exists:

• The account already has considerable visibility or reputation within the community, such as a well-known ranked player or streamer.

• The account can be connected to a specific real-world person through other channels, such as personal information, social relationships, or the content of the conversation.

Conversely, if both sides are merely randomly matched anonymous accounts, neither knows anything about the other's real-world identity, and there is no way to identify who the other person is through any channel, courts tend to find that no crime is established. In such cases, the insult does not harm the social reputation of a “specific person” in the real world.

In simple terms, if the statement only targets a nickname and no one knows who it refers to, meaning it cannot be determined that a specific person is being discussed, then in principle it does not constitute public insult or defamation because it has not lowered any person's social reputation.

Do private-message insults or private-message false accusations count as public insult or defamation?

In principle, private messages themselves do not constitute public insult. The first element of public insult is “publicity,” meaning the conduct must occur in a place or situation where an indefinite number of people or multiple people can see or hear it. If the insult is made only in a one-on-one private message, it does not constitute public insult.

As for defamation, Article 310 of Taiwan’s Criminal Code requires an “intent to disseminate to the public.” In other words, if a false accusation is sent only in a one-on-one private message, it usually lacks the intent to disseminate to the public and is therefore difficult to establish as defamation. However, if the actor not only sends the message to the victim but also spreads the same false accusation to third parties, such as other players C or D, then there may be room to find the required intent to disseminate to the public, and defamation may be established.

Put differently, the key issue for defamation is not whether the message was sent publicly or privately. The focus is whether the actor intended to let multiple people know the content, and whether the content was actually communicated to third parties.

Is calling someone “trash” public insult or defamation?

This is a classic example that illustrates the core difference between public insult and defamation.

• Public insult: This punishes statements that do not contain specific factual assertions but are purely personal attacks. For example, calling someone “trash,” “slut,” or “dog” does not assert any fact that can be verified as true or false. It is simply abusive language that degrades a person's dignity, and falls within the category of public insult.

• Defamation: This punishes statements that identify or convey specific facts without reasonable verification, where the alleged facts can be verified as true or false. For example, accusing “a certain player of using cheats” or “someone of buying pirated games” involves specific, verifiable facts, and may constitute defamation rather than public insult. 

Therefore, if another player calls you “trash” in a game lobby or public voice channel, and other players can see or hear it, the matter would generally involve public insult rather than defamation. But if the insult is made only in a one-on-one private message and is not further disseminated to others, it generally does not constitute public insult and is also difficult to establish as defamation, as explained in Section 4.
Whether a crime is ultimately established and whether a complaint can proceed smoothly still depends on the actual chat logs, screenshots, and other evidence, as well as whether the elements of publicity and intent to disseminate are present.
 

Apart from public insult, what other legal liabilities may arise from insults in online games?

In addition to public insult and defamation, the following liabilities may arise depending on the circumstances:

• Aggravated public insult: If public insult is committed through violence, such as physical gestures or throwing objects, aggravated public insult may be established, which carries a heavier statutory penalty than ordinary public insult.

• Aggravated defamation: If defamatory content is disseminated through writing or images, such as by forwarding screenshots in groups or forums, aggravated defamation may be established, which likewise carries a heavier penalty than ordinary defamation.

• Intimidation: Under Article 305 of Taiwan's Criminal Code, a person who threatens another with harm to life, body, freedom, reputation, or property, thereby endangering the other person's safety, may commit the offense of intimidation. It is important to note that whether “endangering safety” is established is assessed objectively by whether the statement would be sufficient to make an ordinary person feel fear, not merely by the victim's subjective fear. The court will still consider the wording, context, relationship between the parties, and other specific facts.

In civil matters, public insult or defamation in games may also constitute infringement of another person's personality rights, including reputation. The victim may seek damages from the offender under Article 18 of the Civil Code （protection of personality rights）、Article 184（general tort liability）and Article 195 (non-pecuniary damages, commonly referred to as emotional distress compensation).

Public insult and defamation are offenses that infringe individual legal interests. In principle, judicial authorities have a duty to prosecute. Once the victim submits relevant evidence, such as chat logs or screenshots, and files a complaint with the police or the prosecutor's office, criminal procedure will be initiated, and the actor may be summoned to provide an explanation.

If I want to file a complaint, can the person who insulted me be identified? Practical difficulties in online game complaints

Although insults may legally constitute public insult or defamation, the practical difficulty is often not determining whether the insult was illegal, but identifying the person who insulted you.

The biggest feature of the online world is anonymity: you may use an alias, and so may the other party. Unless both parties already know each other in real life, it is difficult to identify the other person's true identity based solely on in-game character information, which is usually limited to game-related data.

Even if you report the matter to the police, obtaining the other party's subscriber or communicationinformation is not as easy as many people imagine:

• High threshold for obtaining information: Under Article 11-1 of Taiwan's Communication Security and Surveillance Act, police access to communicationinformation is generally limited to offenses punishable by a minimum principal sentence of at least three years' imprisonment. Public insult and defamation are both minor offenses. Unless intimidation or another serious crime is involved, police authority to obtain such information is limited.

• Willingness of service providers to cooperate: Many game companies are located overseas, or may decline to provide player login information based on personal data protection considerations.

Therefore, if you are considering filing a complaint, it is advisable to preserve complete evidence as soon as the incident occurs, including screenshots of the conversation showing the time, both parties'IDs, and context, as well as video or audio recordings if the platform provides voice functionality. The more complete the evidence, the stronger the procedural basis for later filing the complaint yourself or seeking assistance from an attorney.

Conclusion: Insults in games may still carry real legal consequences

In the online world, intense gameplay can easily heighten emotions. But even in a virtual space, the harm caused by words remains real. Whether through a game chat room or voice call, if the words cause psychological harm or damage another person's social reputation, they may give rise to liability for public insult, defamation, or even intimidation. Even if only a game nickname is used, the law may still protect the person behind the account if the account can be connected to a real-world individual.

However, whether a crime is actually established and whether the complaint process can proceed smoothly still depends on the specific evidence, circumstances of the conduct, and court opinions in the individual case. This article is for general reference only and does not constitute legal advice for any specific case. If you or someone around you encounters a similar situation in an online game, it is recommended to preserve relevant chat logs and screenshots as early as possible and consult a professional attorney to further assess the feasibility of filing a complaint and the appropriate strategy.

If you have already been insulted or falsely accused but are unsure whether the conversation meets the elements of public insult or defamation, whether the evidence is sufficient, or how to initiate the complaint process, WHP Attorneys-at-Law provides consultation and litigation assistance for reputation-related cases. We can help review existing evidence, assess the feasibility of filing a complaint, and formulate an appropriate response strategy based on the facts of the case. Please feel free to contact us for further consultation and evaluation.

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