Anonymous Comments Are Now a Federal Offense
According to this post from Jeff Jarvis, President Bush signed into law a prohibition on posting annoying Web messages or sending annoying e-mail messages without disclosing your true identity. No joke. So here's my question. Does this mean that hosting a blog that allows for people to comment anonymously is breaking the law?
Technorati Tags: Law







Some clarification is offered by Concurring Opinions here: http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2006/01/annoy_someone_o.html
Posted by: Andrea Weckerle | Monday, January 09, 2006 at 10:06 PM
We won't know until someone sues...
Posted by: Devin Reams | Monday, January 09, 2006 at 10:21 PM
With all the comments and emails traveling the internet, then it would be impossible enforce this. Not to mention, it would be a complete waste of time and money.
Posted by: Tuesday | Monday, January 09, 2006 at 11:53 PM
That depends, right? This legislation does not outlaw anonymous comments. Rather, anonymous comments "with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person." And in the event that prosecution can occur by providing the forum for the second case (which would seem unlikely), just ensure that names are required.
Posted by: Ken Yarmosh | Tuesday, January 10, 2006 at 08:31 AM
This just proves how big of an idiot our President is. I think there are more important issues that need to be addressed. Not providing your real name in a blog comment or e-mail message can get you fined and "up to 2 years in prison" if convicted. Bush and his cronies can start wars, detain and torture individuals on a whim, and neglect Americans when disaster strikes and shit hits the fan. Way to keep America safe douche.
Posted by: Will | Tuesday, January 10, 2006 at 11:39 AM
More debunking:
http://volokh.com/posts/1136873535.shtml
[Orin Kerr, January 10, 2006 at 1:12am]
A Skeptical Look at "Create an E-annoyance, Go to Jail":
"Declan McCullagh has penned a column that is custom-designed to race around the blogosphere. ...
This is just the perfect blogosphere story, isn't it? It combines threats to bloggers with government incompetence and Big Brother, all wrapped up and tied togther with a little bow. Unsurprisingly, a lot of bloggers are taking the bait.
Skeptical readers will be shocked, shocked to know that the truth is quite different. ..."
Posted by: Seth Finkelstein | Tuesday, January 10, 2006 at 05:13 PM
What ever happend to free speech?
Posted by: Nick D | Tuesday, January 10, 2006 at 08:50 PM