Kentucky Lawmaker Wants to Make Anonymous Internet Posting Illegal – Video – WTVQ 36 – Lexington, Kentucky _- Another law enforcement nightmare that is bound to become a dead-letter law. Cripes. What’s worse is that the onus is on the website operator!
Kentucky Representative Tim Couch filed a bill this week to make anonymous posting online illegal.
The bill would require anyone who contributes to a website to register their real name, address and e-mail address with that site. Their full name would be used anytime a comment is posted.
If the bill becomes law, the website operator would have to pay if someone was allowed to post anonymously on their site. The fine would be five-hundred dollars for a first offense and one-thousand dollars for each offense after that.
found by Thomas Coleman
 Dingbat |
Yeah, goodness knows you can’t fake an email address, name or IP. :o)
And no one’s going to retaliate to a web posting by looking up the website contributor’s name, calling and harrassing them…
What state was it that passed (or nearly passed)a law making pi = 3.00?
Me thinks Mr. Couch has been sipping too much Bourbon.
Thats all sorts of screwed up. Probably a good thing that it’ll never pass.
There really should just be a Ted Stevens award for stupid internet legislation.
I dug around on this a bit this morning and apparently, the guy isn’t taking it seriously, himself, which begs the question of why he put the bill forward in the first place.
Makes you wish these idiots would call IT before doing this sort of thing. I’m considering vanity-surfing google for him and emailing him a link so he can share the love, however.
What would John owe?
What an idiot. Honestly, I like the idea in theory. When Howard Reingold and pals founded The Well back in the heady days of the BBS, a founding idea was that “You owned your words.” meaning that you are responsible for them.
But it only takes one attributed comment in favor of the pro-choice movement and a zealous xian asshat who understands Google to change your mind. This Thug for Jesus appeared at my home, and started making threatening comments to my (then) wife as she was leaving for work.
He was mad at me for something I said in a discussion about abortion. It only took a few words from me for him to realize that he was about to die, and after he fled, I never heard from him again.
But what if it hadn’t been just a belligerent coward
I’ve had to deal with laws and acts that the legislators put forward without intending for them to be taken seriously, but they ended up being passed anyhow. (Usually some obsessive kook is going on about something and the politician agrees to “do something”, hoping the bill will die in committee. It seems to be a common problem.)
Anyhow, the results are a pain in the butt.
The law is entirely unenforceable. People would simply use the equivalent of bugmenot to login with proxy credentials. Max’s question is still the most poignant: if you aren’t serious about the law, why propose it other than to look like an idiot?
Sounds good to me… Oh. Wait.
From his Bio…
Born August 19, 1961. Self-employed, Hyden Grocery, Couch’s Shell.
He owns a c-store and it looks like a single c-store. What makes you think he knows anything about anything?
This is a single moron that proposes a law because he doesn’t know any better. If you are going to report every stupid law that gets proposed there won’t be room for anything else. Now, if something like this gets out of committee let us know.
Upholding this law is no problem. Eliot Spitzer will probably have time to handle enforcement.
Ha, yeah, that’s not going to happen.
How do you enforce such a thing anyway?
I think Tim Couch’s idea is brilliant, and my only regret is that I wasn’t smart enough to think of it myself. As the victim of a few hurtful anonymous comments myself, I think we should consider taking this proposed law to the national level. It’s time the government took a closer interest in what its citizens are saying. Tim Couch is a true patriot, and we need more just like him.
#12;
You can’t fool me! Your words are far to articulate for you to be the President! Get out of here, you imposter!
blowme
What’ll happen if some other place decides anonymous postings sshould be compulsory?
Hey I prefer people to refer to me as “The Answer” and my e-mail IS me@bugmenot.com . What?
So …. umm … like if a forum is hosted in Canada, what does this brilliant brain genius think is going to happen?
Only some country frak in Kentunky thinks the USA = the internet.
Fricking moron legislators … I swear.
Politicians cannot be allowed to be so ignorant on technical issues! cripes.
Isn’t Tim Couch that lame quaterback from Cleveland?
What a bunch of lame asswipes. The part you miss is this would be unconstitutional. It is called Freedom of the Press. A slanderous piece against someone still leaves the web site just as vulnerable as a newspaper would be.
“Mr Bush”, I’m glad to see you are taking a bi-partisan position with Hillary.
Do I need to dig up the cite on her saying pretty much the same thing?
Like we need this clown running the net. Take a hike.
“Illegal Anonymity?” That’s more ambiguous than “War on Terror.”
The problem with these naive propositions is that the people who recommend them can’t even begin to understand the technology, the context, or complexity of their suggestions and implications. It’s like saying, “the United States should own the ocean.” Great job, dumbass- you can spearhead THAT project.
If I’m elected, I’ll pass legislation that exposes all those Obama Voters to the world. I’ll be their worst nightmare by forcing them to watch my 2008 election commercials daily for LIFE.
I’ll make Bill personally mail them out. I’ll pimp my Chelsea to lick stamps like she does to Janet Reno.
I won’t rest, so elect me in 2008 !!
So should we post our Social Security Numbers at the top of every message we post. Yeah that will work!
#20
Actually, the article says, “Some said they felt it was a violation of First Amendment rights.” That is not exactly the opinion of a Supreme Court judge.
It’s been quite a while since anyone has so righteously deserved the BubbaRayDipDork Award. This man is also eligible for the Ultimate King Kahuna Moron Award and is hereby nominated for the exacta.
Its kinda fun to think through what is morally wrong with this bill. In a vacuum, we should all be proud of what we post, but in the real world, yes, I think retaliation/confrontation for expressing unpopular opinions would be too common==so, I’m for this in theory, and against it in practice.
BTW–I thought most home computers could be tracked if really needed==so if a remedy is already in place, why make new laws.
#29 – BTW–I thought most home computers could be tracked if really needed
Not if you don’t want them to be tracked.
#27, Thomas,
This is established law. See New York Times Co. v. U.S. The government may not restrict what a newspaper publishes. Someone may still come after the newspaper later for libel, but you may not ban something before the fact.