Kentucky Lawmaker Wants To Make Anonymous Internet Posting Illegal

[Gold9472]

Kentucky Lawmaker Wants to Make Anonymous Internet Posting Illegal

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

(Gold9472: A law already exists with regard to this.)

Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008 - 11:11 PM Updated: 12:40 PM

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.

[beltman713]

Just another way to keep people from voicing their opinion online. Imagine what would happen if someone's employer read an employee's anti-war post on a message board if that employer is pro-war or worse, a military contractor.