P&WA Contributers Going to Jail?

TheStatutoryApe

This is pretty crazy...

Annoying someone via the Internet is now a federal crime.

It's no joke. Last Thursday, President Bush signed into law a prohibition on posting annoying Web messages or sending annoying e-mail messages without disclosing your true identity.

In other words, it's OK to flame someone on a mailing list or in a blog as long as you do it under your real name. Thank Congress for small favors, I guess.

This ridiculous prohibition, which would likely imperil much of Usenet, is buried in the so-called Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act. Criminal penalties include stiff fines and two years in prison.... [more]
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It's illegal to annoy
A new federal law states that when you annoy someone on the Internet, you must disclose your identity. Here's the relevant language.

"Whoever...utilizes any device or software that can be used to originate telecommunications or other types of communications that are transmitted, in whole or in part, by the Internet... without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person...who receives the communications...shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both."

http://news.com.com/Create+an+e-anno...2491&subj=news

I guess my GOOBF cards wont help with this huh?

Lisa!

new federal law states that when you annoy someone on the Internet, you must disclose your identity. Here's the relevant language

So that the person who's annoyed by you, can travel to your place and kill you or paying you back in a way s/he prefers! ( disclosing your address and phone number is necessary as well)

mattmns

I wonder how many years yomamma is going to do in prison

Lisa!

He's under 18! Do you think it makes any change?

Pengwuino

Quote by mattmns

I wonder how many years yomamma is going to do in prison

Well he is under-age.....

I guess i better get my butt over to a non-extradition country

TheStatutoryApe

Maybe Evo or Greg can grant us amnesty.

rachmaninoff

This thread annoys me. Mods, please delete it, so I don't have to resort to a lawsuit.

Pengwuino

Quote by rachmaninoff

This thread annoys me. Mods, please delete it, so I don't have to resort to a lawsuit.

You mean you don't want to call the police....

Pengwuino

I think its pretty funny that if no one in the media caught this... no one would be arrested on this. It's probably that someone wasn't thinking when they wrote the bill and someone caught it and is blowing it out of proportion to sell newspapers.

mattmns

Ahh yes I forgot he is under-age. However, if you look at the "How tall are you thread" you will notice that he is 6' or taller, so maybe we could pass him as an adult?

Lisa!

The only time he really annoyed me, was that. Why a 13 year old boy should be taller than me?

can I call the police and ask them to arrest my jealousy? it usually annoys me!

Tom Mattson

It's no joke. Last Thursday, President Bush signed into law a prohibition on posting annoying Web messages or sending annoying e-mail messages without disclosing your true identity.

Yahooooo! I can heckle you people with impunity!

matthyaouw

Wohoo, I'm English, therefore immune!

I can be as annoying as usual!

Mk

Mk is my real first name so I'm ok. How do you pronounce it?

PerennialII

Quote by matthyaouw

Wohoo, I'm English, therefore immune!

I can be as annoying as usual!

Perfect! We can start snitching

.

Moonbear

Quote by Tom Mattson

Yahooooo! I can heckle you people with impunity!

Unfortunately, this news is already making the circuit on internet forums, mostly by the trolls trying to see if they can threaten to use it (no Perennial, I'm not calling you a troll...I meant on the other forums I've seen people posting it). As it's written, it'll never hold up to challenge if anyone tries to use it. It seems to be part of an anti-spam or anti-cyber-stalking law, but the problem is that it requires demonstrating intent, and I don't think that's going to be very easy to prove or enforce.

zoobyshoe

"Whoever...utilizes any device or software that can be used to originate telecommunications or other types of communications that are transmitted, in whole or in part, by the Internet... without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person...who receives the communications...shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both."

The intent is probably good, but inclusion of the word "annoy" along with the obviously unacceptable intentions behind "abuse, threaten, or harrass" seems ill advised. There's often a thin line between teasing someone and annoying them. I wonder what kind of "annoyance" prompted them to include this in the law.

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mattmns	I wonder how many years yomamma is going to do in prison

Lisa! Recognitions: Gold Member	P&WA Contributers Going to Jail? He's under 18! Do you think it makes any change?

rachmaninoff	This thread annoys me. Mods, please delete it, so I don't have to resort to a lawsuit.

Pengwuino Recognitions: Gold Member	I think its pretty funny that if no one in the media caught this... no one would be arrested on this. It's probably that someone wasn't thinking when they wrote the bill and someone caught it and is blowing it out of proportion to sell newspapers.

matthyaouw Recognitions: Gold Member	Wohoo, I'm English, therefore immune! I can be as annoying as usual!