As usual folks a few so called "representatives of the people" have been trying to slip small snips of legislation into law that would take away rights granted under the constitution of the US, namely the right to free speech.
http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=1122There are two proposed bills in the State of New Jersey, A1327 and A2623. The first bill is sponsored by Assemlymen Peter J. Biondi, while the second is sponsored by Wilfredo Caraballo and Upendra J. Chivukula. Although sponsored by different Assemblymen, the two bills share much in common
Both bills force website administrators to provide a "reasonable" avenue for complainants to submit identification requests. Neither bill however, dictates what legal authority a complainant has to demand such information. A similar situation came to a head in December of 2003, when a court ruled the RIAA couldn't simply demand an ISP hand over an alleged infringer's identity.
In response to these proposed bills, the EFF has published an open letter addressed to the legislation’s sponsors. The letters argue the bills would inhibit free speech while going to dangerous lengths in the name of protecting against defamation. The open letter also argues both bills will ultimately fail in court, free speech issues aside, considering they do not have any legal authority, “…both bills suggest that user identities must be revealed without even so much as a subpoena.”
"Protecting anonymity is vital to maintaining the diversity of viewpoints on the Internet," said EFF Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl. "Keeping online debates robust enables democracy, even if it allows name-calling and strongly worded opinions about political figures."
Another great article there folks from the Slycks team folks, head over to there for the full story
I think common sense need to be observed here and unless we dig our heels in the ground over invasion of our rights we will lose the flavour of the net, be it good or bad its a great tool for uniting communities and just because folks dont like a certain word you use to describe them it should not mean the law has to steal your right to say it.
