"Human flesh search engine", the idea of mobilizing thousands of individuals to dig out facts and expose them to publicity may no longer be a fun game to play as a draft amendment now bans government staff from seeking and publicizing private information.

Several high profile scandals in China had seen the online vigilantes of the "human flesh search engine" engaging in what amounted to cyber lynchings of individuals and their reputations.

In the draft amendment submitted to the country's top legislature last week, government staff face from one to six months' in a detention center or three years' in jail for the most serious cases.

"The amendment has focused on individual interests, which is a big change and a giant step forward in protecting personal information," said Liu Renwen, professor of law at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Liu was not alone in backing the amendment. A survey on Aug. 28 conducted by the China Youth Daily showed more than 60 percent of those polled felt the amendment was "a prompt move to curb the leak of citizens' information."

The survey, which polled 2,422 people online, also revealed nearly 99 percent of people agreed it was necessary to protect personal information through the law and nearly 89 percent have said they had suffered because personal information had been leaked.

Tang Tiantian, a media worker in Beijing, told of her own experience of being harassed by a gym club.

"I was not quite sure about the quality of their equipment and walked away after registration. But they constantly sent me messages and then kept calling my number, which is absolutely annoying," she said.

Anonymous messages, phone calls and spam were listed as the most reported means of harassment after personal information was made known to unauthorized agencies and individuals, according to the survey.

Correspondingly, the majority, or more than 80 percent of those polled, appeal to lawfully protect information include phone number, ID card number and address.

The existing law only bans staff in the post office from hiding, or dumping mail and telegrams. The new amendment extends the scope of the application and is a positive move to meet the demands of citizens in an evolving society, says Li Han, a law graduate from Beijing Normal University.

The new amendment is a big blow to the "human flesh search engine", or at least serves as a warning to those who steal personal information, said a media transmission major at China's elite Nankai University, who would only identify himself by his surname Liu.

The Criminal law now has become more specific about the protection of individual information and the "human flesh search engine" is now not just a moral issue, but also one of legality, he added.

(Xinhua News Agency September 3, 2008)