After being harassed for weeks, family members of Zhao Hongxia, the woman at the center of the recent Chongqing serial sex video scandal, decided to go to the police and report their suspicions that their personal information was being leaked to the public.

Their apartment had been surrounded by people requesting interviews, haranguing them day after day. Zhao's lawyer said that Zhao's mother could hardly sleep at night, her husband had to take measures to evade the people chasing him, and their 2-year-old child was terrified.

Initially hailed by some Web users as an "anti-graft heroine" after she was videotaped having sex with Lei Zhengfu, the former Party chief of Chongqing's Beibei district, Zhao later became the focus of criminal investigations when the scandal widened. Another 10 officials were sacked and claims surfaced indicating that she had been hired to have sex with some of them as part of an extortion scheme.

Journalists and members of the public then set up a camp outside their home and seemed to have access to a great deal of their personal information.

In China, leaked personal information usually just results in electronic spam and phone calls, but for Zhao's family it has resulted in a nightmare - a nightmare that has even ensnared innocent bystanders who have been mistaken for Zhao.

To make matters worse, the hazy legal definition of the crime of "obtaining personal information illegally" makes it hard to determine the boundaries between personal privacy and public interest.

Fair game?

Zhang Zhiyong, Zhao's lawyer, told the Global Times on February 3 that he had accompanied her family to report their suspicions that their personal information including their home address and phone number had illegally been obtained and leaked.

"These are not supposed to be accessible to the public, and we will pursue the responsible parties," Zhang said.

Zhang also helped Zhao collect evidence of leaks of her family photos, and she later asked publicly through her lawyer that media outlets not publish the photos of her husband and child.

Many people criticized the harassment of her family online, while others said that the family were one key to solving the puzzle, and now that the case was so high-profile she shouldn't expect privacy.

Wu Fengheng, a Beijing-based investigative journalist who has faced several similar situations when contacting newsworthy individuals and obtaining their information, said he believes the public interest is the ultimate criteria.

"Different perspectives from various parties help better present the truth and the validity of the information, but everyone deserves to be listened to and respected, and personal information unrelated to the case that doesn't contribute to the public interest, such as the details of Zhao's family, should not be published in any way out of respect," Wu told the Global Times, adding that the media should avoid leaking personal information simply to get attention.

"However, the boundary of public interest and personal privacy is hard to decide and varies from case to case," Wu said.

Mistaken identity

After the original sex video was posted, Web users scrambled to find pictures of Zhao. However, none of the pictures that spread online were actually of her. To make matters worse, pictures of other women made their way into media reports on Zhao.

The mistaken pictures were mostly of Song Wenwen, a Shanghai-based employee of a foreign company. A friend pointed out that the nine frequently-circulated pictures seemed to have been taken from her own personal album then misused. She and her family were left shocked by the unwanted publicity.

"I published a statement on Sina Weibo but it received little effect, and some friends who weren't familiar with my recent life were also questioning me. I had to take psychological therapy to avoid falling apart," she told the Global Times.

Song had to change her phone number to avoid harassment, and decided to seek out who had made the original posting. She appealed to both the Shanghai and Chongqing police.

A Chongqing police officer surnamed Zhong, who took her case, told the Global Times that it was hard to determine the original source, but said he is on the case.

Song said that she had been concerned about the potential of further leaks of her personal information when she made the statement on Weibo, and some people had even accused her of profiting from the situation because she works as a part time model. "I had to face this and fight to protect myself," she said.

Hazy regulations

According to a survey by Banyuetan magazine in 2012, more than 80 percent of Web users have experienced information leaks, and the major channels for leaks include public and private agencies such as hospitals, schools and telecommunications companies, as well as online social networks and even through simple things such as misused application forms.

The crimes of illegally obtaining, and selling or providing personal information were added to the seventh amendment of the Criminal Law code in 2009.

Serious violations can lead to sentences of up to three years in prison as well as fines.

The Ministry of Public Security conducted a campaign in 21 provinces in January to crack down on the illegal sale or use of personal information, and arrested more than 1,100 suspects. The first national standard also took effect on February 1 to regulate the collection, use, spread and management of personal information.

However, there are rarely successful lawsuits because of the vague legal definition and messy regulation coverage. "Definitions of 'personal information,' 'illegally obtain,' and 'serious violation' are all unclear and the court often can't find substantial grounds for an indictment," Zhang said, adding that the Supreme People's Court should put in place a clearer judicial interpretation and take tougher measures to punish such behavior.

After three months, Song's life is getting back to normal and she hopes her case could serve as a warning of how important it is to protect personal privacy. However, several media outlets are still trying to verify Zhao's real profile picture and seeking information on her past.

"The problem won't be solved until everybody is aware of the problem and starts to protect their rights," Zhang said.