Arizona Attempts To Make Trolling Illegal

LordofEntropy writes "Though unlikely to pass any First Amendment test. Arizona's Gov. Jan Brewer has a bill on her desk that would in essence make 'trolling' illegal. The law states 'It is unlawful for any person, with intent to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy or offend, to use any electronic or digital device and use any obscene, lewd or profane language or suggest any lewd or lascivious act, or threaten to inflict physical harm to the person or property of any person.'" This did indeed manage to pass through both houses of legislature and only needs a signature to become law.

Comments

Even worse

[bobbutts]

It's not just trolling "annoy or offend" could literally be applied to every word ever written.

Re:Even worse

[jd]

Just as the truth cannot be slander or libel, a considered, rational opinion cannot be a troll.

Therefore, the first statement (which is certainly considered, rational and true) cannot be a troll.

The second statement - that depends. If indeed you have offered evidence of racism, it would be a considered, rational opinion. If you have not, then it would not be. The statement would be a troll ONLY in the second case. A statement, in and of itself, deprived of context, cannot be judged either a troll or not.

The third statement is extreme, certainly, but again it depends on whether it is rational and considered. The evidence for AGW is definitive and I'd certainly agree that anyone not embracing it is making a choice that has nothing to do with rational or logical thought. That doesn't make it mental illness, though. Greed is inefficient but greedy industrialists aren't mentally ill, just very stupid. If, however, the scientist is aware of a link between denialism and mental illness, then it is a rational, considered view and ergo not a troll.

The final statement is definitely true, but being true is not sufficient. If the statement was made on emotional, rather than rational, grounds then it was a troll. If it was rational, rather than emotional, then it was not.

You are conflating angry speech with trolling, the two are not the same.

well....

[oh_my_080980980]

They also outlawed teaching Mexican American studies in public schools, so no I don't find this surprising.

Prior art

[6Yankee]

It's bad enough taking existing patents and adding "ON THE INTERNET", without doing it to existing laws as well.

Great work!

[Georules]

Great work on crapping all over free speech Arizona.

Fox News

[Anonymous Coward]

How's that going to work for Fox News?

Remove annoy or offend and it's ok

[Jason Levine]

This is probably going to go against popular opinion, but having read the bill, it looks ok with one exception: "annoy or offend". Remove those two (ok, three counting "or") words and what you have is a bill that says "It's illegal to threaten someone via the telephone so it should be illegal to do so online as well." Remember, freedom of speech isn't freedom to threaten someone with bodily harm or to stalk someone.

With "annoy/offend" intact, though, the law could be read in much too broad of a manner and could easily infringe on someone's free speech rights.

Re:Remember:

[gstoddart]

You have the right to not be offended. Right?

I know you're joking, but I have no idea where people came up with the notion they have some inalienable right to not be offended. Less so just because it's on the internet.

I'm offended every time I listen to a politician speaking. I'm offended when some executive gets millions in bonuses for a money-losing quarter. I'm offended when some idiot says the world is only 6000 years old.

Freedom of speech means you don't have to like what I say, and I don't have to like what you say. But neither of us can prevent the other from saying it.

However, I know there are some groups who really do believe that I should in no way be able to say something that offends them.

Re:First Illegal Troll

[lgw]

I believe this is primarily an anti-cyber-bullying law. Wouldn't want our precious special unique snowflakes to get their little feelers hurt, would we? If some big meanie insults then on the internet, why then just throw him in jail, problem solved!

We seriously need to stop trying to keep kids cocooned until 25. Maturity comes only from facing the world, and coping with its hardships, whether that happens at 15 or 25. Delaying that isn't helping society.

Re:First Illegal Troll

[Hatta]

This isn't a joke. The disrespect Brewer shows for our most cherished rights offends me far, far more than anything I've ever seen on the internet. Yes, even more than goatse.

I'd rather live in a world where goatse was plastered on every billboard than in a world where our ostensibly most respectable citizens can propose something like this and not be run out of office with torches and pitchforks.

This is not merely offensive, it's the deepest level of obscenity I can imagine. This is depravity writ large.

Re:First Illegal Troll

[Marxist Hacker 42]

If your trolling requires " use any obscene, lewd or profane language or suggest any lewd or lascivious act, or threaten to inflict physical harm to the person or property of any person", then you're not doing it correctly.