Optimizing Digital Adjudication through Social Network Analysis: An Empirical Study of Credit Card Disputes in Beijing

2026-01-08

Frontiers in Business and Finance

AI Summary

This study addresses the lack of effective methods in current digital judicial systems to uncover the structural logic underlying legal application in cases involving personal information protection, such as credit card disputes. It pioneers the integration of social network analysis (SNA) into judicial decision-making by constructing a legal citation network to empirically analyze relevant cases from Beijing. The approach identifies core substantive and procedural norms along with archetypal case structures, enabling both node-based recognition of legal rules and typological classification of cases. Furthermore, it offers a scalable, data-driven framework for digital court systems, significantly enhancing case retrieval efficiency and adjudicative consistency.

Technology Category

• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Social Cognition And Interaction
• Data Mining & Knowledge Management: Graph Mining, Social Network Analysis & Community
• Natural Language Processing: Sentiment Analysis, Stylistic Analysis, and Argument Mining

Application Category

• Social Networks and Social Media: Fairness and bias in social network and social media analysis
• Web Mining and Content Analysis: Bridging structured and unstructured data
• Responsible Web: Ethical and legal aspects of web-scale data analysis, uses and collection practices

Abstract

Amid the rapid digitalization of judicial systems, the integration of big data into adjudication remains underexplored, particularly in uncovering the structural logic of legal applications. This study bridges this gap by employing social network analysis (SNA) to examine credit card disputes involving personal information protection adjudicated in Beijing (2022–2024). By constructing a legal citation network, we reveal the latent patterns of substantive and procedural law application. The findings demonstrate that SNA can effectively identify core legal norms and typify cases, offering a robust methodological framework for optimizing 'Digital Court' systems. These insights provide practical pathways for enhancing judicial efficiency and consistency through data-driven case retrieval and holistic judicial information networks.

Problem

• Digital Adjudication
• Social Network Analysis
• Credit Card Disputes
• Legal Citation Network
• Personal Information Protection

Innovation

• Social Network Analysis
• Digital Adjudication
• Legal Citation Network
• Case Typology
• Judicial Big Data