Human Flesh Search - Facts and Issues

This article studies an interesting Internet phenomenon known as Human Flesh Search which illustrates the far-reaching impacts of the Internet that is less documented. Due to its huge threat on individual privacy, human flesh search has introduced huge controversy and invited heated debate in China. This paper reviews its growth, explores the impetuses, identifies the distinctions from the alternative search engines, and summarizes the benefits and drawbacks. Furthermore, the paper develops a systematic review of the prior literature in human flesh search by surveying major sources such as academic journals, national and international conferences, and public and private databases. Finally, the paper identifies five research gaps in the literature and offers an initial interpretation and analysis of these remaining research issues. Human flesh search is still growing and the current study helps the computing field learn the past and present of this emerging phenomenon and properly manage its future development.