Kentucky Lawmaker Wants to Make Anonymous Internet Posting Illegal

[Mark]

http://www.wtvq.com/content/midatlan...3-05-0011.html

Kentucky Lawmaker Wants to Make Anonymous Internet Posting Illegal

By Kellie Wilson
E-mail | Biography

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.
Representative Couch says he filed the bill in hopes of cutting down on online bullying. He says that has especially been a problem in his Eastern Kentucky district.
Action News 36 asked people what they thought about the bill.
Some said they felt it was a violation of First Amendment rights. Others say it is a good tool toward eliminating online harassment.
Represntative Couch says enforcing this bill if it became law would be a challenge.
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A bill like this would affect everyone here on these boards. You would not be able to post under names like Frogman, Pythoness, Kid Lester, etc...

Would you still post here if you were not anonymously? How do you feel about this bill?

[Blbackack]

Nope, I would not be here if I had to post using my real name. I am the only person with my last name in this state. If someone wanted to track me down, and had my last name, it would take all of 2 seconds.

This is completely idiotic to me.

"I want to cut down on on-line bullying!" And increase the amount of times that people get pissed off at a post and just drive to poster's house and beat the crap out of them! SMART MOVE, SIR! Brilliant, really effing genius. I love it.

Not.

Internet bullying my @$$. This is about something else.

[max1]

I have no problems using my name, I stand behind everything I say unless proven wrong. I would still post to TD, and other sites. I don't agree with this guy I like most Americans want the government out of our pockets and lives. Problem is though when there is no one to moderate you end up with TNJ mess.

[FunHater]

umm first of all how does Kentucky have jurisdiction over the world wide web?

[Blbackack]

I have no problems using my name, I stand behind everything I say unless proven wrong. I would still post to TD, and other sites. I don't agree with this guy I like most Americans want the government out of our pockets and lives. Problem is though when there is no one to moderate you end up with TNJ mess.

Right, but, the people who are bothered by it just.. don't post there anymore. It's not that big of a deal that the government needs to be involved. I stand behind everything I say too. That doesn't mean I want every freak and pervert in the world to know my full name AND my address.

[witchofthedogs]

Right, but, the people who are bothered by it just.. don't post there anymore. It's not that big of a deal that the government needs to be involved. I stand behind everything I say too. <b>That doesn't mean I want every freak and pervert in the world to know my full name AND my address.</b>

Ding, ding, ding. We have a WINNAR!

[Panama Girl]

Yet another way they're trying to take away our freedom in exchange for a false sense of security.

[Kid Lester]

Nope.

The printed word lives forever. I can tell an off color joke at a bar and it's no big deal. It's no big deal here, either.

But if somebody had an agenda, it could cost me a job. No thanks.

There need to be laws to curb online harrassment of juveniles, tho. I just don't know how you do it.

[Blbackack]

I didn't even like wearing a name tag when I worked at Concord Pet. It is very unsettling to know there's some weirdo hanging around the store interested in you (and I do mean nutcase) and they know your name.

I'm SO GLAD that at my current job, I don't have to wear a name tag. Nobody knows my name except the employees. If I don't want them to know my name, I can say my name is Mary, Grace, or Shaheed and they wouldn't know any different.

I like it that way.

[Kid Lester]

Is this the same Tim Couch who quarterbacked at U.K. and was a first round bust for the Browns?

[Tracy]

I want to anonyomously kick his ass

[Jessica]

Kentucky Lawmaker Wants to Make the Internet No Fun

[Joe Walther]

http://www.wtvq.com/content/midatlan...3-05-0011.html

Kentucky Lawmaker Wants to Make Anonymous Internet Posting Illegal

Some stuff eliminated for space savings..
Represntative Couch says enforcing this bill if it became law would be a challenge.

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A bill like this would affect everyone here on these boards. You would not be able to post under names like Frogman, Pythoness, Kid Lester, etc...

It wouldn't affect me in any way. I post under my name and always have. On the other hand, I am well able to take care of myself in the event that others may wish to do me harm.

The amazing thing about some of the politicians who claim to be looking out for us "common folk" is the that they fail to realize that the very anonymity they propose to eliminate is the very same thing that adds a sense of well-being to most people who simply want to post legitimately.

Unless you have the legal wherewithal to deal with morons, I'd never recommend to anyone to use real identities on the Internet unless you are posting within 128-bit encryption sites.

While the incidents of "bullying" and "harassment" are seemingly abundant, they seem that way because you only read about such incidents. The literal billions of non-incidents go by without so much as notice.

There are myriad ways to prevent much of the crap that goes on throughout this medium without eliminating some of the methodologies people currently use.

The problem is that it takes some work and a whole lot of interdependent cooperation among various controlling entities, including ISPs and policing agencies.

You'd be amazed at how well good, solid, and mutually respectful relationships--webmasters/postmasters to webmasters/postmasters--can work toward identifying and preventing some of this stuff.

It's the way I work and the way I've always worked and it has always paid off big time. I've even put a few assholes in jail as a result.

Would you still post here if you were not anonymously? How do you feel about this bill?

I would, indeed; the same way I've always posted here. However, I would not recommend it as a general rule until cyber-law settles out. Of course this isn't going to happen until the attorneys stop making obfuscation a rule of thumb and judges grow the guts to force them to do it.

Regards,

[M.Opaliski]

A bill like this would affect everyone here on these boards. You would not be able to post under names like Frogman, Pythoness, Kid Lester, etc...

Would you still post here if you were not anonymously? How do you feel about this bill?

This legislation is no doubt DOA so I'm going to skip the long winded response, hell, he's not even pushing it so much as he is opening a dialouge, it's going no where. However, it wouldn't effect me as I have never used a moniker to begin with ...

umm first of all how does Kentucky have jurisdiction over the world wide web?

Bingo. They can't trump Federal Law and Federal statutes prohibit the States from restricting internet use.

*No citation on hand, but if need be I'll dig one up ...

[TomS70]

I love when these politicians come up with a "cause" and sound like a horse's ass when it finally hits the media.

I have no reason to hide my identity, I'm a nobody in RL, that won't change here. I do not think that banning annonymous posting on the internet solution is the answer to security issues on the web.

Anyway, your ISP tracks the IPs it assigns and the boards generally track the IP address and timestamp of each post. So it's not like the Fed can't figure out who posted what if they really need to do so (i.e. with a court order).

My thoughts: Tim Couch is a moron, and you can quote me on that.

Thomas G Sluder
Smyrna, DE

[Bada Bing]

If this law goes through, Talk Delaware will become a "post off" between Joe Walther and M.Opaliski..... with Chase as the Super Admin....

You three have fun now!

[Blbackack]

I'm surprised Chase hasn't commented on this.

[Naomi]

I would still post but there is No way this could be made into a law

[M.Bush]

I'm surprised Chase hasn't commented on this.

Me too... I'm kinda curious as to what he'd have to say

[M.Bush]

I don't have a problem with using my first name, but would never use my last - no matter how many have the same last name as I do..

By the way - my first name is Mike...