Crank Blogging, Like Phone Calling, Now Illegal

On Thursday, President Bush signed into law a must-pass DoJ appropriations bill which contained a little gotcha for the internet. For decades, making anonymous abusive phone calls has been a federal crime, good for up to two years behind bars -- and the term "abusive" has included threats, harassment, and the much weaker "intent to annoy." Now, that telecommunications law has been extended to include the Internet, so when you post an anonymous troll to wind up your least-favorite blogger, you may break the law. This is silly: the law needs to start taking into account the qualitative differences between things like telephones, email inboxes, blogs, and IM accounts. A 3 AM phone call is different from a post to blogger.com calling me a jerk. I don't need federal protection from that Night Elf who keeps /chickening my Orc.

Comments

Really reason, Bush googled himself

[FerretFrottage]

I wonder if people think I suck or if they think I'm great?
So I guess he figured that while he was already taking away our freedoms and bypasing the Constitution and/or other institutions in place to help preserve our freedoms, what's one more little law.

Re:First Anonymous Post

[nobody69]

I agree. Bush is an utterly powerlessness President. He has never shown any ability to affect the decisions of Congress by say calling them on the phone, inviting them over for a talk, having someone on his huge staff contact their staff, using his influence as the de facto head of the GOP or finding some member of the media to hear his opinions on anything.
 
Or are you some liberal who has fallen for the media's line that Bush is stupid and lazy and probably doesn't even read the laws he signs, much less understand them?