Working at Home on the Internet Webpage Archive

This is something I found on The Blog Herald yesterday, I hope Duncan doesn’t mind too much that I borrowed it, I just think it is important enough to share.

President George W Bush ratified a new law last Thursday that makes it illegal for people in the United States to post anything to a blog that could be deemed “annoying” anonymously.

The law, which was buried in the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act, titled “Preventing Cyberstalking” rewrites existing telephone harassment law to prohibit anyone from using the Internet “without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy.”

The one positive from the law though is that it potentially also outlaws comment spamming in the United States. How many anonymous comment spams does your blog get daily that come from an Anonymous source…lots I’d guess, and there is little question that they would be deemed annoying in a court of law. Perhaps we should start a competition for the first blogger to successfully see a comment spammer thrown in jail for breaching the new laws? Certainly a nice thought!

My biggest problem with the whole concept is that I think it is just one step away from crossing the First Amendment Rights of anyone who comments on any topic.

I don’t like Comment or any other type of Spam, but when the Government starts to regulate what is said or written, they Over-step their Bounds. Then they bury it in a law that is entitled “Preventing Cyberstalking”?

I just don’t see where Posting or Commenting Anything to a Blog could be considered Stalking. I just hope we haven’t taken that first big step down the great abyss…

(sources: News.com, Slashdot)(The Blog Herald)