Thread: New York lawmakers propose ban on anonymous online comments

New York lawmakers propose ban on anonymous online comments

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_1...line-comments/

• 21 Comments
  
  /
• Shares /
• 52 Tweets /
• Stumble /
• Email
• More +

Assemblyman Dean Murray introduces the Internet Protection Act with his legislative colleagues.
/ New York State Assembly
(CBS News) New York state lawmakers have proposed a ban on anonymous online comments. Called the Internet Protection Act (A.8688/S.6779), the legislation would require a web site administrator to pull down anonymous comments from sites, including "social networks, blogs forums, message boards or any other discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages."
The bill states:

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.

Among the bills' sponsors are New York Assemblyman Dean Murray and Sen. Thomas O'Mara, who say the proposed law is to fight cyberbullying.
"Cyberbullying has become one of the great tragedies of the Internet age," O'Mara said at a press conference. "Numerous national studies tell us that upwards of 40 percent of students have experienced some form of cyberbullying at least once, and they feel helpless in the face of it. Victims of anonymous cyberbullies need protection. We're hopeful that this legislation can be helpful to the overall effort to deter and prevent anonymous criminals from hiding behind modern technology and using the Internet to bully, defame and harass their victims."
Critics of the bills claim the law will infringe upon free speech.

"This statute would essentially destroy the ability to speak anonymously online on sites in New York," said Kevin Bankston, a staff attorney with the Center for Democracy and Technology told Wired, adding that anyone who disagrees with a heckler could have the comment taken down.
The proposed law raises questions over privacy and security, as well. The bill would allow website owners access to private information, like a user's home, e-mail and IP address.
A basic website can be operated by as little as one person. The bill would give that website administrator full access to private information, with no additional security provisions for users who would have to hand over their personal information.
Additionally, website administrators currently don't have to disclose their identity to users and can pay to protect their personal information from the WHOIS registry. If the legislation is enacted, the personal information exchange would be a one-way street.
Currently, no votes have been taken on the legislation.


It's starting, this is the first step to destroying free speech. Next it will go Federal.

what next!
Haven't they got anything better to do with our tax dollars?

New York Legislation Would Ban Anonymous Online Speech

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/05/anonymous-online-speech-ban/

• By David Kravets
• 05.22.12
• 3:46 PM

Photo: dcwriterdawn/Flickr

Did you hear the one about the New York state lawmakers who forgot about the First Amendment in the name of combating cyberbullying and “baseless political attacks”?
Proposed legislation in both chambers would require New York-based websites, such as blogs and newspapers, to “remove any comments posted on his or her website by an anonymous poster unless such anonymous poster agrees to attach his or her name to the post.”
No votes on the measures have been taken. But unless the First Amendment is repealed, they stand no chance of surviving any constitutional scrutiny even if they were approved.
Republican Assemblyman Jim Conte said the legislation would cut down on “mean-spirited and baseless political attacks” and “turns the spotlight on cyberbullies by forcing them to reveal their identity.”

Had the internet been around in the late 1700s, perhaps the anonymously written Federalist Papers would have to be taken down unless Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay revealed themselves.
“This statute would essentially destroy the ability to speak anonymously online on sites in New York,” said Kevin Bankston, a staff attorney with the Center for Democracy and Technology. He added that the legislation provides a “heckler’s veto to anybody who disagrees with or doesn’t like what an anonymous poster said.”
Sen. Thomas O’Mara, a Republican who is also sponsoring the measure, said it would “help lend some accountability to the internet age.”
A cynic, however, might see an attempt by lawmakers to prop up Facebook’s falling stock price via an implicit endorsement of the Facebook model of identity on the internet.
The Senate and Assembly measures, which are identical, cover messages on social networks, blogs, message boards or “any other discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages.”
The bills also demand those sites to have a contact number or e-mail address posted for “such removal requests, clearly visible in any sections where comments are posted.”
Oddly, the bill has no identification requirement for those who request the takedown of anonymous content.

S06779 Text:

S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K __________________________________________________ ______________________ 6779 I N S E N A T E March 21, 2012 ___________ Introduced by Sen. O'MARA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to protecting a person's right to know who is behind an anonymous internet posting THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 1 Section 1. The civil rights law, is amended by adding a new section 2 79-o to read as follows: 3 S 79-O. ANONYMOUS INTERNET POSTER; RIGHT TO KNOW. 1. DEFINITIONS. AS 4 USED IN THIS SECTION, THE FOLLOWING WORDS AND TERMS SHALL HAVE THE 5 FOLLOWING MEANINGS: 6 (A) ANONYMOUS POSTER IS ANY INDIVIDUAL WHO POSTS A MESSAGE ON A WEB 7 SITE INCLUDING SOCIAL NETWORKS, BLOGS FORUMS, MESSAGE BOARDS OR ANY 8 OTHER DISCUSSION SITE WHERE PEOPLE CAN HOLD CONVERSATIONS IN THE FORM OF 9 POSTED MESSAGES. 10 (B) "WEB SITE ADMINISTRATOR" MEANS ANY PERSON OR ENTITY THAT IS 11 RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING A WEB SITE OR MANAGING THE CONTENT OR DEVEL- 12 OPMENT OF INFORMATION PROVIDED ON A WEB SITE INCLUDING SOCIAL NETWORKS, 13 BLOGS FORUMS, MESSAGE BOARDS OR ANY OTHER DISCUSSION SITE WHERE PEOPLE 14 CAN HOLD CONVERSATIONS IN THE FORM OF POSTED MESSAGES, ACCESSIBLE VIA A 15 NETWORK SUCH AS THE INTERNET OR A PRIVATE LOCAL AREA NETWORK. 16 (C) "INTERNET" MEANS THE GLOBAL SYSTEM OF INTERCONNECTED COMPUTER 17 NETWORKS THAT USE THE INTERNET PROTOCOL. 18 (D) "INTERNET PROTOCOL ADDRESS" OR "IP ADDRESS" MEANS A NUMERICAL 19 LABEL ASSIGNED TO EACH COMPUTER OR DEVICE PARTICIPATING IN A COMPUTER 20 NETWORK THAT USES THE INTERNET PROTOCOL FOR COMMUNICATION. 21 2. A WEB SITE ADMINISTRATOR UPON REQUEST SHALL REMOVE ANY COMMENTS 22 POSTED ON HIS OR HER WEB SITE BY AN ANONYMOUS POSTER UNLESS SUCH ANONY- 23 MOUS POSTER AGREES TO ATTACH HIS OR HER NAME TO THE POST AND CONFIRMS 24 THAT HIS OR HER IP ADDRESS, LEGAL NAME, AND HOME ADDRESS ARE ACCURATE. 25 ALL WEB SITE ADMINISTRATORS SHALL HAVE A CONTACT NUMBER OR E-MAIL 26 ADDRESS POSTED FOR SUCH REMOVAL REQUESTS, CLEARLY VISIBLE IN ANY 27 SECTIONS WHERE COMMENTS ARE POSTED. 28 S 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 29 have become a law. EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD13459-02-1 Go to top

Originally Posted by posylady

what next!
Haven't they got anything better to do with our tax dollars?

This is a "Test Trojan Horse Bill" designed to stifle free speech plain and simple. Cyberbullying my a**.