Although Beijing frequently cracks down on cyberspace activity, censoring search engines such as Google and filtering information, the Internet remains one of the freest platforms on which Chinese citizens can communicate and bond.
The rising popularity of Web justice, sometimes referred to as Internet hunting, is relatively new, but it has the potential to threaten the absolute control of the Communist Party. Digital communities are springing up without the consent of the authorities ” and are even forcing officialdom and society to take small steps in their direction.
As empowering as it seems, vigilantism in any form is imperfect. And unlike the kitten killer story, the outcome of the online hunting game is not always clear-cut. [Full Text]
See also: Internet Users Turn Vigilante in China by Benjamin Robertson on VOA and “The Blogosphere Strikes Back” by Simon Elegant in Time Magazine.
