Mainland celebrities' ID card photos exposed online
(Shenzhen Daily)
Updated: 2005-07-14 08:49

Dozens of mainland entertainment celebrities have had their ID card photos posted on the Internet, sparking off a frenzy similar to last month's online leaking of the mobile numbers of 600 stars.

Twenty-four singers, actors and TV personalities were involved, including "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" star Zhang Ziyi, actress-turned-director Xu Jinglei, Ge You, and some of CCTV's most popular anchormen.

In a wave of curiosity that has swept the Internet, the black-and-white photos, obviously taken years ago, have been downloaded in huge numbers from the site where they first appeared, before being widely reposted on popular BBS forums.

Many of those downloading the photos were interested to see that the stars were "not much different from ordinary people."

"I like the images of some female stars on these photos... they look young and pure years ago," wrote one message board poster "jooj" before adding, "Zhang Ziyi grows to be much more sophisticated."

Other online messages were less surprised, noting "it's easy to search for the old photos of stars on the Net, even their photos as children."

According to the Kunming-based Yunnan Information newspaper, the photos were collected and exposed by an unidentified editor working under the pseudonym Xiao U.

But the editor did not put up the stars' addresses and ID card numbers on the Net as he knew it would be "illegal and wrong" to do so, the newspaper said.

The case has prompted some "netizens" to speculate that the celebrities' photos might have first been posted on the Net by government organizations, as part of formal registration procedures.

Responding to the exposure, many stars expressed anger and said they would be taking legal action.

"This is really an abnormal event," said renowned CCTV anchorman Zhao Zhongxiang. "I can not bear it and I think I will seek legal help."

Singer Man Wenjun called for the setup of an association to protect entertainment figures. "We need such an association to effectively avoid similar events in the future," he said.

But lawyers said exposing the photos on the Internet had not breached any law, even though it had invaded celebrities' privacy and abused their image rights. "There is no proper law for this issue, and it's hard to find any legal evidence," said a lawyer.

The last time such a violation of celebrities' privacy occurred was last month, when the mobile phone numbers of over 600 celebrities were posted online. Many stars were forced to change their numbers after being molested by hundreds of calls.

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