Posted on 05/27/2012 4:18:16 PM PDT by bkopto
All users posting to websites would have to post their real name and address, non-compliant posts would be axed
When people think anonymity, Anonymous and their iconic Guy Fawkes masks often pop into mind these days. But long before the members of that controversial hacker collective were a mere twinkle in their mothers' eyes, another anti-authoritarian rabble-rouser was using anonymous protest to stir up revolt against a totalitarian ruling elite. His name was Thomas Paine, and his anonymously published work Common Sense helped ignite the colonists in revolution against Britain.
I. Want to Post? Put Your Legal Name and Address Here!
Yet today in the country that Thomas Paine's anonymous writings helped to give birth to, a country in which speech is supposedly free, something alarming is happening. Several states are looking to outlaw online anonymity.
New York is among them. The State Senate is contemplating Bill S6779 a measure that would force users to post (and verify) their home address, IP address, and legal name in any post they make online.
That's right; New York is considering laying waste to privacy and anonymous speech in the name of "preventing" online bullying. The bill describes:
A web site administrator upon request shall remove any comments posted on his or her web site by an anonymous poster unless such anonymous poster agrees to attach his or her name to the post and confirms that his or her IP address, legal name, and home address are accurate. All web site administrators shall have a contact number or e-mail address posted for such removal requests, clearly visible in any sections where comments are posted.
It's unclear exactly how much support the bill has in the State Senate. It was introduced just over two months ago by Sen. Thomas F. O'Mara (R—Big Flats).
(Excerpt) Read more at dailytech.com ...
This year, the Chinese Communist Party implemented a “real name” requirement for its Twitter-like weibo microblog users.
Thus, rather than reinventing the wheel, I recommend that the NY State Senator just ask the ChiComs for a copy of the Chinese law. After all, if it’s good enough for the descendants of Mao, it’s good enough for New York State.
Thanks for the ping. Do you have any idea about whom the bill’s sponsor is? A pubbie sponsoring this should be primaried.
Not a clue. I don’t have any idea where Big Flats is. Never heard of it before.
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