The snoop next door, page 1

This shows us the dangers that can happen in society. Technology can be a good thing or a bad thing. Online vigilante sites are popping up all over the place and they could cause some real problems in future.

online.wsj.com
The digital age allows critics to quickly find a fair amount of information about their targets. One day last November, at about 11:30 a.m., a blog focused on making New York streets more bike-friendly posted the license plate number of an SUV driver who allegedly accelerated from a dead stop to hit a bicycle blocking his way.

At 1:16 p.m., someone posted the registration information for the license plate, including the SUV owner's name and address. (The editor of the blog thinks the poster got the information from someone who had access to a license-plate look-up service, available to lawyers, private investigators and police.) At 1:31 p.m., another person added the owner's occupation, his business's name and his title. Ten minutes later, a user posted a link to an aerial photo of the owner's house. Within another hour, the posting also included the accused's picture and email address.

The SUV's owner, Ian Goldman, the chief executive of Celerant Technology Corp. in the New York City borough of Staten Island, declined to comment for this article. According to an email exchange posted on the blog, Mr. Goldman said that he had lent the vehicle in question to a relative with "an urgent medical situation" and that he was not aware of any incident. The alleged victim has decided to drop the matter since the damage to the bicycle, which he was standing next to at the time, was under $20. Last month, Aaron Naparstek, editor of the blog, says he removed Mr. Goldman's home and email addresses from the site after receiving a "lawyerly cease and desist" email asking that the whole posting be deleted.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

I think this just shows how easy and quickly someone's life could be ruined. What if the persons car had been stolen? What if the person in question never realised this was out there on the Internet about them? What if a child had been hit instead of a bicycle, and a mob had shown up at this persons door?

There are many dangers with society becoming too empowered and feeling the need to play judge, jury, and executioner. The modern society has it's advantages and disadvantages. While I do agree with sites that let you post harassing people, I do not agree with shame sites.

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