No 'human flesh' search

Victims of the "human flesh search" whose reputations have been damaged and privacy rights abused by Internet users can demand that websites delete harmful information under the Tort Liability Law, which becomes effective today.

"Human flesh search" is a loose term to define thousands of anonymous Internet users who work together as self-styled detectives to track down and harass people with whom they disagree, especially government officials, by exposing their personal information online.

Many victims have expressed concern that their privacy rights have been trampled with no legal means to fight back.

A provision of the law stipulates that Web users and Internet service providers are legally responsible if they use the Internet to maliciously attack innocent victims and compromise their personal information. Victims of such infringement can demand that Internet service providers delete the relevant posts.

Internet service providers who are aware of the malicious intent of the users but fail to stop the infringement will be held responsible.
The law also says victims whose rights are infringed can seek mental compensation from the abuser.

Before enactment of the new law, victims had nowhere to turn except to file civil lawsuits.

There was no legal provision restricting websites from publishing the information.

The new law covers the infringement of rights in other areas, such as confidential medical records, but the human flesh search was highlighted as a problem following a string of incidents in which Internet users acted as cyber-bullies, harassing citizens with whom they disagreed and making their lives miserable.

Ping Qijun, a disaster control official in Jiangxi Province, fell victim to the "human flesh search" after a CCTV interview, in which Internet users said he seemed more interested in praising high-ranking officials than caring about flood victims. Ping and his family received numerous threatening calls after the interview.

Early in February 2008, hundreds of nude photos of Hong Kong celebrity Edison Chen and other female stars were widely circulated on the Internet.

"Cyber vigilantes now have great power to bring huge changes to a person's life, and the changes can sometimes be very negative, which constitutes infringement behavior," a lawyer surnamed Zhu in Beijing told the Global Times.

A media employee, who was declined to be identified, said that most of the people targeted for online harassment are wrongdoers being tracked down and reviled out of a sense of social justice. However, the privacy rights of people who have not committed a crime should be fully protected.

"The human flesh search is a double-edged sword that should be used with care," the media employee said.

The Tort Liability Law was approved by the National People's Congress in December 2009. Among the highlights is a provision that allows hospitals to sign a surgical consent agreement on behalf of a patient's family members in case of an emergency.

Source:Global Times