Bush makes anonymous flaming illegal!

[editor]

Look out flamers trollers and wind-up merchants - President Bush has made it a crime to post annoying Web messages or sending annoying e-mail messages without disclosing your true identity!

The law is designed to prevent cyberstalking, but an over-zealous lawyer could have fun with this:

The law makes it illegal for anyone who: "utilizes any device or software that can be used to originate telecommunications or other types of communications that are transmitted, in whole or in part, by the Internet... without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person." So getting a good conviction is dependant on people agreeing on what is the meaning of the word annoying.
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=28871

 

[gnoriac]

Perhaps he's getting loads of e-mails 'congratulating' him over his War Against Iraq.

 

[bmd]

The US would love to completely regulate the internet, instead they have to settle for stuff like this but I do wonder if this is their way of bringing in regulation gradually, first it's the cyberstalkers, which is fair enough (if they actually exist in meaningful enough numbers to have a law for) but I wonder who's next. What do these laws mean outside the US anyway?

 

[tw1ggy5]

The US would love to completely regulate the internet, instead they have to settle for stuff like this but I do wonder if this is their way of bringing in regulation gradually, first it's the cyberstalkers, which is fair enough (if they actually exist in meaningful enough numbers to have a law for) but I wonder who's next. What do these laws mean outside the US anyway?

Not a great deal if its just an anonymous flaming from a different country, odd law to bring in really after the whole free speech thing they keep yapping on about, before adding provisos as to who this means and under what circumstances.

Problem will be with tony the arselicker in tow I dont expect it will be that long before we hear rumblings of the same over here. They'll ramble on about how it'll help law enforcement, pay your taxes for you and do the washing up to boot. Everyone will say oh well thats nice I hate the washing up, vote for it then start bitterly complaining when the policy is brought in and they realise the implications behind it.

As far as Internet regulation is concerned the US is deadset on keeping control of the internet, as seen by the ICANN debacle not so long ago. Personally Im wondering how long til China and the rest of Asia get pissed off and setup an alternative.

 

[tw1ggy5]

Its because of the US being in control there is no xxx domain tlc? , various foreign countries dont control their own either. Iraq being the obvious example.

 

[FridgeMagnet]

It's a daft law, completely unworkable, and it's almost certainly unconstitutional as well - the First Amendment makes no mention of how "annoying" free speech is, and there have been legal decisions setting the precedent that one can exercise it anonymously.

It was snuck in in a bill on Violence Against Women, you'll notice.

 

[spring-peeper]

It's a daft law, completely unworkable, and it's almost certainly unconstitutional as well - the First Amendment makes no mention of how "annoying" free speech is, and there have been legal decisions setting the precedent that one can exercise it anonymously.

It was snuck in in a bill on Violence Against Women, you'll notice.

That's how they brought the first shooter legistation into Florida - to protect the women folks.

Interesting trend.

 

[tw1ggy5]

They always tack on shitty extras to sure to pass resolutions, do have to wonder why this is in any way allowed however.

 

[TAE]

Hmm, very concerning indeed.

One of the joys of these boards is the anonymity which allows you to discuss stuff with people who you really wouldn't want to meet in real life.

And it's really not my responsibility to make sure that nobody is every annoyed at what I write anyway!

 

[maes]

What right do they have to regulate the internet as a whole? Or does it only concern crimes perpetrated in the US/by a US citizen?