Kentucky Lawmaker Wants to Make Anonymous Internet Posting Illegal
Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008 – 11:11 PM Updated: 12:40 PM
By Kellie Wilson E-mail | BiographyKentucky 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 [sic] Couch says enforcing this bill if it became law would be a challenge.
Tim Couch has no idea about the reality of the internet. Not even a Daily Show understanding.
It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad.
Oy…