Resist, but respect other people's rights

UNTIL recently, I'd never heard of American netizens acting as virtual vigilantes.

Most people in the US would ignore a blog about an extra-marital affair. A photograph of a someone abusing a cat might anger some feline lovers. However, a local animal rights group would fight the battle – not someone with a computer and an Internet connection.

But then I began reading about poor Megan Meier, an overweight 13-year-old girl who killed herself after reading some mean messages on her MySpace page. Some of them had come from a "friend" who was supposed to be a 16-year-old boy.

Turns out, the "boy" was the mother of one of her neighborhood friends. When netizens learned that the police could not charge the woman (she had broken no law), they decided to punish the mother themselves.

They posted the woman's name, home phone number and address online. Soon, people began to harass her family business. Someone threw a brick through the front window of her home. At night, people drove by her home and shouted "murderer!"

Look the other way

Cases like this one, however, are quite rare in the US.

First of all, most content that appears online has the full protection of the US First Amendment. This law guarantees Americans the freedom of expression. Only materials like child pornography are prohibited.

As a result, Americans have learned to tolerate filthy parts of the Web like they would a street with lots of strip clubs and adult bookstores: They look the other way and drive (or click) on. When an event or story does seem to lead to anger, advocacy groups often take the lead. These groups send representatives to relevant government offices to call for justice.

They organize non-violent protests and communicate their opinions and messages to the media. They make a point of respecting the "guilty" person or group's rights – no matter how much they hate them.

Of course, we don't live in a perfect world. Laws and procedures can't completely rid society of immorality, as the Meier story shows. However, resisting such behavior while respecting the person's rights can go a long way to making society safer for everyone.

How to protect yourself from online mobs

How to protect your online privacy

Think carefully before submitting your personal information online. Most often, users leak their own personal information. For example, some alumni websites once posted users' personal info online.

Don't include personal info in stories, blogs or posts. These can be saved and re-posted on websites without your knowing. Search engines can dig your information out no matter where it is.

Use secure pin numbers. If you have to put your personal info online, make sure you have a safe pin. It should have at least six characters, including both numbers and English letters.

How to find out if your personal info has been leaked

Search your name regularly in Google or Baidu and check the results, especially the first three, to see if they include any personal info.

What you should do if your personal info has been leaked

Delete the info from the websites yourself, if you can get access to it. E-mail or call the website and ask them to delete the info.

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abuse 虐待

advocacy 拥护, 鼓吹

extra-marital 婚外的

feline 猫科动物

filthy 污秽的

First Amendment 美国宪法第一修正案

harass 骚扰

netizen 网民

overweight 超重的

pin 密码

pornography 色情

protest 抗议

racism 种族主义

strip club 脱衣舞夜总会

tolerate 容忍