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ANNOYING BECOMES ILLEGAL
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ANNOYING BECOMES ILLEGAL
Friday, January 13, 2006 - FreeMarketNews.com
Last week, President Bush signed a new law that makes it illegal to annoy anyone using the Internet without disclosing your identity, according to CNET.
The new restrictions on Internet usage are embedded in the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act. It states that "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."
Under the federal law, it is legal to harass someone on the Internet as long as you disclose your identity. However if you annoy someone and don?t reveal your identity, you could face up to two years in prison and be ordered to pay heavy fines.
Internet and civil rights experts point out that it?s nearly impossible to post Internet content without annoying someone. Usenet, message boards and blogs could all be deemed illegal because they often contain content written by anonymous contributors.
staff reports - Free-Market News Network
View Only FMNN Articles
ANNOYING BECOMES ILLEGAL
Friday, January 13, 2006 - FreeMarketNews.com
Last week, President Bush signed a new law that makes it illegal to annoy anyone using the Internet without disclosing your identity, according to CNET.
The new restrictions on Internet usage are embedded in the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act. It states that "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."
Under the federal law, it is legal to harass someone on the Internet as long as you disclose your identity. However if you annoy someone and don?t reveal your identity, you could face up to two years in prison and be ordered to pay heavy fines.
Internet and civil rights experts point out that it?s nearly impossible to post Internet content without annoying someone. Usenet, message boards and blogs could all be deemed illegal because they often contain content written by anonymous contributors.
staff reports - Free-Market News Network
