China Internet going wild: Cyber-hunting versus privacy protection

Abstract

The Internet is notoriously known to be the "human flesh search engine" in China when it is used against private individuals for the purpose of social shaming, monitoring and revenge. In such case of cyber witch hunting, personal information of the targeted individuals is often ruthlessly exposed and their lives are mercilessly disrupted. In the face of the growing resort to the human flesh search engine, the Beijing Court delivered the first ruling condemning this practice and affirming privacy rights for Chinese citizens at the end of 2008. This article discusses the trend of cyber-manhunt in China, with specific focus on the judgment of the Beijing Court. It points out the inadequacy in the ruling and argues that legislative enactment to protect personal information at the national level is essential in China. © 2009 Anne S. Y. Cheung.