MOLI VIEW™

I had a friend who described to me once, in cringe-inducing detail, how he took revenge on a high-school love interest who had spurned his advances. In a fit of teenage fury, he designed an 8.5 x 11" flier with the girl's visage on it, accompanied by text containing some very provocative (and, thanks to his writing skills, thoroughly believable) assertions about her sexual predilections. He then covertly wallpapered the school with them.

I imagine that, from that day forward, the young woman's high school career fell into two distinct categories: BF (before flier) and AF (after flier). Nothing cuts like teenage cruelty.

But teenagers aren't the only ones capable of such skullduggery. And these days, defaming someone doesn't require such elaborate involvement.

The gossip, hearsay, misinformation, and violation of privacy that were routine in high-school hazing have become a present-day concern for people of all strata. The anonymity of the web has inspired whole new ways to shame and dishonor your fellow man without ever having to face him (or her). Terms like "cyber-stalking" and "cyber mob" are now in popular use. With employers, learning institutions, and law-enforcement agencies relying more and more on Internet information, keeping one's private life "private" (and accurate) is a bigger challenge than ever.

In his new book, The Future of Reputation, Daniel J. Solove, associate professor of law at the George Washington University Law School, explores the implications of living in an era where everyone — from the most powerful politician to the average grade-school student — is vulnerable to cyber-bullying, Internet vigilantism, fraud, and misappropriation of information. In its present state, new technology removes the line between privacy rights and the First Amendment. According to Solove, the unrestricted flow of information on the web represents a modern-day Scarlet Letter.

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