Apart from the copyright issue, there are many other factors contributing to the abuse of the Internet in China. The number of Chinese netizens has been rocketing exponentially by tens of millions every year, reaching 420 million at the end of June in 2010. Statistics show that the primary aim of surfing on the Internet in China is to get information. The booming Internet population increases the volume of online information, and the readership and influence of the web is rising steadily. China's Internet media has , in just 10 years, grown from virtually nothing to playing a decisive role in disseminating news and forming public opinion. But the fast-changing situation has created a lot of problems, such as lack of up-to-date Internet law, low levels of professionalism and online moral standards. News Websites may be faithfully fulfilling their tasks by providing abundant and comprehensive information according to law and media ethics. They show social responsibility, report news events objectively and impartially and represent the interests of the public. On the other hand, the hundreds of millions of netizens often fall into various manmade traps when they try to use Internet as a "microphone" and "amplifier" to criticize other people and spread news stories.

This is a both theoretical issue and a concrete problem. Accurate news mingles with countless false stories and rumors on the Internet. Some Websites and netizens copy and paste stories indiscriminately without checking the facts, especially if they think they are "sensational." Whenever something bad happens, they will attack the "bad guys" in the story regardless of whether they are actually guilty. For example, a 6-year-old girl called Xiao Hui from Jiangxi Province was discovered bleeding, with bruises all over her body. Someone posted online that she had been beaten by her stepmother, who was soon accused of being "the cruelest stepmother in history". But Xiao Hui was later diagnosed as having a blood disorder. The stepmother was the real victim.

The Internet, formerly a communication tool used by professional technologists, is now used by ordinary people all over the world. Though this has brought unparalleled gains, it has also thrown up unexpected problems. The Internet has passed the "microphone" and "amplifier" from the minority into the hands of majority. This helps promote social progress but also creates many problems. Some can be solved by legal means but most fall into the grey area between law and ethics.

Websites need to step up to the plate and take on the responsibility of finding solutions to problems in these grey areas. They need to regulate themselves and their staff according to the standards of professional ethics and public morality. Just as with the copyright problem mentioned above, by taking their efforts in these fields seriously, Websites can demonstrate a responsible attitude towards society, their readers and their own integrity.

Let us all work together to solve problems and make progress on the Internet!

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