Cyber manhunters: social ethic guardians or privacy violators?

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• [12:42 April 20 2009]
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Not all Web users support the manhunts, however. Li Chun, from Hangzhou, said: “We have no right to expose other people’s private information.”

Zhao Liyan, from Beijing, agreed. “I hope to dig out evil, but I fear that cyber manhunts will make everyone feel like they’re in danger,” she said.

Alleged philanderer Zheng Xing became the target of a manhunt after a man calling himself “Sad Husband” claimed on the MOP bulletin board site that Zheng had slept with his wife.

“Sad” posted transcripts of the online chats Zheng, a student from Hebei Province, had had with his wife and released his QQ identification number.

It was more than enough for the renrou sousuo crew. In an interview with CCTV, Zheng said that after his personal information was published online, he began being hounded by vigilantes.

“I received two to three hundred phone calls and messages a day. Some people scolded me, some even tried to extort money from me,” he said.

Not everyone who becomes the focus of a manhunt is prepared to take it lying down, however. In March of last year, Wang Fei took three websites to court for allowing his personal information to be made public.

The incident began when Wang’s wife Jiang Yan committed suicide. After her death, a blog she had written about her husband’s alleged infidelities was promoted on the bulletin board Daqi.com.