Kentucky Lawmaker Wants to Kill the Internet
“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.”
The pinhead politician says he made this proposal to cut down on online bullying. But, I think its effect would be to stifle discussion on the Internet. Online bullying, for example, would probably just move from websites to eMail.
I, for example, am not an online bully nor a predator or any kind of threat to anyone online. Maybe an occasional annoyance, but that’s about it. But, I do not like giving my real name and address to many sites online, and having to do so would certainly cut down on the number of blogs I comment on. Who knows what some website or blog owners might do with your personal information?
It’s unclear, but perhaps this would be a law that would only be applicable in Kentucky. In that case, it would certainly kill many blogs hosted in Kentucky. I’m reasonably sure many people would be resistant to the idea of registering their real name and address just to leave a comment on a blog. There are other blogs out there, so it would just be easier to go elsewhere, much to the detriment of Kentucky website and blog owners.
Most people that leave comments anonymously, or pseudo-anonymously, are not bullies. I don’t know the solution to online bullying, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t involve restricting the rights of the innocent.
On top of that, couldn’t this just make bullying worse? Doesn’t this open up the possibility that the bully will obtain the victim’s real name and physical address? Conceivably, a bully could start a blog or website that appeals to the victim. The victim registers, and now the online bully can become a physical bully. Brilliant.
You see, this is why it is best that the powers of government are limited. Too many politicians are idiots.
The fact that this guys from Kentucky pretty much explains it for me…
I hear that there’s a lot internet bullying in Butcher Holler.
Remember the internet bullying scene in the movie Coal Miner’s Daughter-
it freaked me out?
So much so that I only comment on safe blogs…
What makes you think this is a safe blog?
Dan,
Name is one thing–but address?! Hate to say it, but this guy needs to get real! Giving out one’s physical address on the iternet would be the height of foolishness, since it could so seriously compromise personal safety and security. And doing so on any insecure site (aka any site without a lock icon in the status bar at the bottom of the screen or an encrypted connection, indicated after right-clicking the web page and then clicking “Properties”) would be total insanity.
Let’s hope no one falls for this foolish bill–at least without some drastic revisions!
Jeanne
Even giving your name could make problems worse. A pseudonym can give you some degree of protection against online bullies. Say for example that I went by the name of “blogman” or something and you were bullying me online in different forums or on my blog or whatever. If it got to be a problem, I’d have the option of changing my name to “webman” or something and starting a new blog and just telling my known friends I had changed my ID. Then, you might not be able to find me so easily again.
But, if you’re required to use your real name, it’s harder to do something like that. It can be argued that it makes it harder for the online bullies to remain anonymous, but who is going to be in charge of verifying these names and addresses? It’s likely that the bullies will use fake info while their victims will use actual info. And, I just think that has the potential for making things much worse.
In the past, I was an advocate for using real names online. I ran a BBS where people were required to use their real names in order to join and participate in discussions. There are certainly disadvantages to allowing people to participate online in an anonymous or pseudonymous manner. But, I see also that there are times when it’s necessary. Despite existing laws on things like stalking, some people still have to resort to changing their names or hiding online in order to evade their stalkers. Sometimes, stalkers may know enough to skirt the edges of the law; avoiding breaking any laws but still managing to play mind games with their victims. At other times, a presumed stalker is nothing of the sort, but the presumed victim feels threatened and tries to evade them.
In any case, I just don’t think people should be required to use their real names online, nor do I think that website owners should have the responsibility for verifying the identities of their users.
Dan,
The points you make are, of course, very valid. I agree with you. I simply focused on the address issue, because that would be more likely to have the potential to cause actual physical harm to the victim.
Jeanne
That’ll never pass, ever. He’s smoking crack or he’s trying to get some of his paranoid constituents to shut up and it’s probably all because somebody gave somebody crap on myspace, or lost their girl/boyfriend or some such Jerry Springer drama.
See why you have to be crazy to want to be a politician?