"Doomsday" rumors were widely circulated on the Internet, with some cults trying to use them to destabilize society. Such rumors show the mess the Chinese mainland cyberspace has become for lack of a special law, says an article in Economic Daily. Excerpts:

Some netizens use "virtual" identity as a shield to do whatever they want to on the Internet, turning the network into a "hot bed" of information-related crimes such as frauds, libels and stealing other people's personal information. Information technology has, no doubt, made life convenient, but it has also created trouble. Hence, it is necessary for the authorities to pass a law to eliminate the troubles.

Take personal information security as an example. With the Internet becoming a part of people's lives, personal information of millions of people have ended up being stored online, which unfortunately could be accessed by undesirable elements.

Users have to reveal their real identity to avail of many services on the Internet, but cyberspace does not have a foolproof mechanism to protect their data.

Although no major online incident related to personal data has been reported on the mainland so far, the endless spams, advertising calls and exposure of some personal information - apart from the recent libel cases, rumors and frauds - are enough to remind the authorities that precautionary legal measures should be taken sooner rather than later.

A special Internet law is necessary to give law enforcement agencies the legal basis to regulate the virtual world. For instance, online rumormongers go about their dirty business with impunity because there is no specific law to punish them. Even if their rumors harm individuals or society as a whole, they can only be held accountable according to some vague regulations and get away with light punishment, which does not deter other mischief-makers.

The Internet now is no different from the real world, because it is used by real people. The Internet's role and function used to be exaggerated by technology determinists in its initial days. But today the rule of law applies to not only the real world but also the virtual world. So the public should be reminded of the necessity of strengthening Internet regulations.

(China Daily 12/22/2012 page5