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Why do we need internet police? Because the internet is still the wild west, and the sheriff hasn't yet come to town. There are scams everywhere, and little to stop the criminals. The police that are supposed to enforce law and order just don't understand the internet, and they are not being regularly trained to deal with crimes that take place there.
I estimate that my online articles have been used in violation of my copyright at least 2000 times. Yes, two thousand times - this is not an exaggeration. What can I do about it? When someone in another country steals my article and puts their own name on it, I can find it online using search engines, but the most I can really do is send a threatening email mentioning a lawyer that I can't really afford to hire for each of these many violations.
The thieves may or may not respond, but they will almost always keep stealing other articles. Why should they stop? They are perfectly aware that it is too much trouble and expense for anyone to pursue a legal case against them.
Then there are the larger crimes. As many of you do, I get "scam" emails almost daily, looking like they came from my PayPal account or my bank. They are trying to get us to give them the information necessary to empty our accounts. This is not a small matter, and it will get worse.
Since at the moment there seems to be no qualified police online, and no political will to allocate money to train some, what are we to do? My suggestion is that someone start their own for-profit internet police department. This would be a company that charges for protecting our rights.
First of all, they would know all the tricks necessary to go after the criminals. They would have the technical knowledge needed to destroy criminals web sites, or overload their servers so they wouldn't work. They would use strong-arm tactics against any web hosts or others that dared to do business with known criminals. This is how they would punish the wrong-doers.
How would they finance these operations. They could charge for each enforcement action, or sell a basic security package that might include virus protection and such. Many, including myself, would be happy to pay for this protection, particularly if they could truly punish and stop some criminals.
Let's be clear here. I am talking about what would essentially be a "vigilante" operation. That is okay with me, because it is clear that all legal authorities are so far defaulting on their responsibilities in this area. The company would have to develop a reputation for true integrity.
As an example, I imagine that I would contact them as soon as I found an article of mine stolen. The internet police would then verify that I have used their service without problems before (to be sure I am not making bogus claims against others). They would look at whatever documentation I sent them. If I am not paying for service contract with them, I would pay a set fee.
Now they would find the owner of the website where my stolen article is. An email would be automatically sent out telling them to cease and desist in their copyright violation. If they did not, or if they had a record of such violations, then punitive action would be taken. This could include notification of all who do business with them that they are engaging in criminal activity. They might also be listed on the internet police "most wanted" list, where the public could see their name.
If this wasn't enough to convince the offenders to change their ways, other actions could be taken. Web hosts could be convinced to close their accounts. Internet police volunteers could be used to overload their server with non-stop visits.
There are many other ways that internet criminals could be legally punished by the internet police in conjunction with internet users who want to help clean up the web. Then, perhaps, with just a few good stories of "vigilante justice" in the press, fewer people would choose to become internet criminals.
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