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State Lawmaker Wants To Ban Anonymous Posting Online
bfwebster writes "According to a local news article from last week, Kentucky state lawmaker Tim Couch wants to ban anonymous posting on the internet in order to 'cut down on online bullying', which he says has been 'a particular problem in eastern Kentucky.' His bill would require posters to register with their real names and e-mail addresses under threat of fines. Looks like another battle in the right for anonymous free speech."
I'm getting really sick and tired of parents trying to use the legal system to protect their kids.
Heaven forbid the legal system should be used to enforce the laws when the victims are kids.
The idea is that the legal system protects kids from things they don't understand.
No, the idea is that the legal system protects people from other people who do illegal things, like attacking them physically, stealing their possessions, and threatening to do either of those things. If these things happen to an adult, it is a crime. If these things happen to a child, it is also a crime.
I'm pretty sure that the average child understands that some anonymous person on the internet cannot harm them and that they are probably just some other stupid kid. I wish parents would start actually raising their kids. My parents did a great job, and it was their first time.
Anonymous people on the internet are not just electronic fabrications, they are physical people. They are as capable of committing crimes as non-anonymous people. The presumption that because people post threats or perform their harassment electronically and anonymously does not make the crimes less real.
Would you assert that because identity theft is performed anonymously and via the internet, it isn't a real problem? I would not.
Would you assert that children are not entitled to the full protection of the law? I most certainly would not.