Newstory Reflection - Wong Yi Yan

Source: “Cyber-stalking should be a criminal offence, MPs say.” BBC.com. 30 Mar. 2011. BBC. 8 April 2011. < http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12894414 >.

The news stated that cyber-stalking should be a criminal offence, supported by the MPs. As the chief executive of the Network for Surviving Stalking, Alexis Bowater said, “Stalking must be taken seriously... It destroys lives and indeed can lead to loss of life.” No matter psychologically or physically, online harassment could ruin a person’s life. If the personal information (e.g. mobile phone number) of a victim was being posted online, the victim could keep receiving harassing calls; as a result, the victim’s mental health would be harmed. In terms of physical, the online harassment could deteriorate and become a real offence which the victim could be hurt physically, namely, raped or murdered. Personally speaking, this might be a good option in terms of the technological determining society. As Bowater described, “it’s much easier to approach someone online than to go to their house or send them a letter.” Therefore, internet provides the best platform to commit crimes without bearing responsibilities with the existing law.



Here is a link from Youtube describing the cyber-stalking on Facebook. It mentioned “cyber-stalking itself is not actually a criminal offence, but it is an offence which someone sends threatening message online.” So the laws should be overhauled, it is necessary to find a possible way to eliminate the cyber-stalking as it could seriously endanger a victim’s life. (There should be a similar law in Hong Kong too.)

Another problem has been raised in the video- even though the Facebook account could be deactivated, personal information could still be in somewhere on the cyberspace which means the online identity cannot be fully erased. Here leads to a series of questions- how do we treat someone as “trustful” and tell them our personal information? How do we perceive the cyber world? Have our relationship with others improved or it is a way to endanger ourselves?
Besides refining law, we, the internet users should have a sense of self-protectiveness and not to be addicted to the online identity. Both of us and the government have to work on the cyber-stalking issue. With our own prevention, and the law restriction, the "crime" could be declined.