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Arizona Attempts To Make Trolling Illegal

Posted by Unknown on from the entire-slashdot-readerbase-sent-to-gitmo dept.

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.

32 of 474 comments (clear)

  1. First Illegal Troll by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Jail this!

    1. Re:First Illegal Troll by durrr · · Score: 5, Funny

      Jail Arizona's Gov. Jan Brewer for trolling if this law passes. It certainly offends and annoy me.

    2. Re:First Illegal Troll by lgw · · Score: 4, Insightful

      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.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    3. Re:First Illegal Troll by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Maybe we'll be cell mates!

    4. Re:First Illegal Troll by geekoid · · Score: 4, Funny

      "I pick fruit off my own tree."
      Which is safe because of laws controlling waster from corporations. Funded through taxes.

      "I mow my own lawn with a push reel mower."
      SO how did you get the mower without using any public infrastructure? paid for with taxes.

      "I prefer the buffet anyways,"
      created with food that has a minimum bar for safety, and a recourse that you can take if it makes you ill. All paid for with taxes.

      " but I cook for myself and family anyways every other day."
      With power that is reasonable consistent, and available for reasonably prices, thanks to taxes.

      "Now get off my desert. "
      Without taxes and regulation, you wouldn't have a dessert to cal your own.

      "Liberal scum."
      yes, wanting corporate responsibility, and to build a society that can progress, and not have corporation return to the way it was 120 years ago sure is scummy.

      "Go pay more taxes while yer at it."
      How about we pay reasonable taxes based on services needed to continue to progress?

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    5. Re:First Illegal Troll by Hatta · · Score: 4, Insightful

      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.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    6. Re:First Illegal Troll by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      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.

      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
    7. Re:First Illegal Troll by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 4, Informative

      My point is that a troll should be subtle. It should elicit responses (whether through anger or humor) without resorting to those low tactics. The flame war resulting from the original troll may well descend to that point, but the original troll itself should be at a higher moral level.

      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
  2. Woo! First! Suck on that! by Kincaidia · · Score: 5, Funny

    [ this comment has been removed by the State of Arizona ]

  3. Breaking news by bonch · · Score: 5, Funny

    BREAKING--Trolls Left Homeless After Website Ruled Illegal

    Tech site Slashdot was ruled illegal today, leaving hundreds of trolls without a home. Slashdot, founded in the late 90s by master troll Rob Malda, has provided shelter for countless trolls over the years.

    "It leaves me feeling naked. And petrified," said Slashdot user PortmanHotGrits. "Slashdot was once a thriving troll community due to its rigid ideology, biased editors, and broken moderation system."

    "Where am I going to hate Apple now?" asked one anonymous user. "I hate Reddit, and my real life friends bought Macs years ago. Slashdot was the last place my puppet accounts could go to vent their frustration at iSheep Crapple fans. Android4Lyfe! Hang on, my custom ROM just crashed."

    Reaction in other internet communities was mixed.

    "Slashdot is still around?" asked several Twitter users. Said one IT administrator: "Whoa, Slashdot? I used to post there when I ran Linux on my desktop back in 2001. I used to write 'Micro$oft' non-ironically. I was an embarrassing idiot. Farewell, Slashdot."

    Rob Malda, who ran screaming from Slashdot earlier in the year with half his body engulfed in flames, could not be reached for comment.

  4. Arizona by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm glad I moved to Texas.

    1. Re:Arizona by lgw · · Score: 4, Informative

      You joke, but Texas currently (for at least the past 15 years) has a significant net inflow of migration from other states - no income tax (and a reasonable regulatory climate for starting a business or building something) is a nice draw, I guess. In any case, don't mess with Texas.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
  5. Remember: by GmExtremacy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    You have the right to not be offended. Right?

    1. Re:Remember: by jimbolauski · · Score: 4, Funny

      You have the right to not be offended, if can not afford to be offended, the court will provide someone to be offended for you.

      --
      Knowledge = Power
      P= W/t
      t=Money
      Money = Work/Knowledge so the less you know the more you make
    2. Re:Remember: by gstoddart · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    3. Re:Remember: by gstoddart · · Score: 5, Informative

      Another interesting story from the same site: "TSA Screener Throws Hot Coffee In Face Of Pilot Who Asked Her To Stop Cursing" :-o Wow.

      Holy crap, you're not kidding.

      Mr Trivett then attempted to get a closer look at the screener's ID tags, presumably in order to report the incident. The screener, 30 year old Lateisha El, then reportedly shoved the pilot and hurled a full cup of hot coffee at his face.

      Police said that Mr Trivett thankfully walked away without being seriously hurt. El, from East New York in Brooklyn, was arrested and charged with harassment and misdemeanor-assault.

      I'm sorry, but if someone in uniform who has the authority to arrest and detain you does that, that should be a lot more than a misdemeanor. Because if I threw a cup of coffee into a TSA screener's face, I'd be sure as hell facing an entirely different set of charges. In fact, it would likely be a Federal offense.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
  6. Even worse by bobbutts · · Score: 5, Insightful

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

    1. Re:Even worse by TFAFalcon · · Score: 5, Interesting

      But the law seems to imply that annoying is fine, as long as you don't '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.'

      So it's not so much a law against trolling, as it is against impolite trolling.

      If that is the case then I fully support it. It's so much more satisfying to drive a person crazy while being completely polite.

    2. Re:Even worse by jd · · Score: 4, Insightful

      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.

      --
      It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
  7. well.... by oh_my_080980980 · · Score: 5, Insightful

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

    1. Re:well.... by Brentyl · · Score: 5, Informative

      Not to be pedantic: The State of Arizona had little to do with one school district canceling Mexican-American studies. That was a course taught at a few schools in Tucson, and the school district shut it down. There are reasonable arguments both ways on that call.

      There was some pressure from the state Dept of Ed, but it was truly a local decision.

      That said, as a long-time resident and observer, general knuckleheadedness runs both deep and wide in our fair state. If Brewer signs this bill, I can't imagine it withstanding any appeal. This is basic First Amendment stuff.

    2. Re:well.... by sgrandi · · Score: 4, Informative

      If you are going to be pedantic, at least be correct.... The state of Arizona did pass a law stating that schools can’t teach courses designed “primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group.” Tom Horne, Arizona’s attorney general crafted this law when he was the state’s school superintendent. While still superintendent, he ruled that the Tucson Unified School District's Mexican-American studies program violated the law. To avoid the penalty specified in the law (loss of a percentage of state funds for school support) , TUSD shut down the program.

  8. Prior art by 6Yankee · · Score: 4, Insightful

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

  9. Great work! by Georules · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Great work on crapping all over free speech Arizona.

  10. Breaking news: by asdbffg · · Score: 4, Informative

    Arizona proposes another batshit law.
    The rest of the country is unsurprised.

  11. Fox News by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How's that going to work for Fox News?

  12. Trolling by DaneM · · Score: 5, Funny

    So...if you make inflammatory comments against fraudsters, does that mean you're...(wait for it)

    Trolling for phishers? Would that now be considered poaching?

  13. Hm... by JustAnotherIdiot · · Score: 5, Interesting

    '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.

    So, technically, couldn't it be viewed that this law is breaking itself?

    --
    What do I know, I'm just an idiot, right?
    1. Re:Hm... by berashith · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I once tried this on an HR droid. I was being forced through orientation of a large company as my smaller company had been purchased. The new policy was that all instances of harrasment and intimidation would be investigated, and that there was no standard of expected behavior. Any behavior that offended someone was based on teh one being offended, and therefore anything could be reported to HR, and therefore anyone could be investigated, for ANYTHING that someone chose to be offended by. I immediately stated that I was offended by such a policy, and that I would like to report HR to HR to open an investigation. The poor guy about popped. After attempting to just ignore me , thinking I was just being an ass, I did explain that I felt that the open ended policy was a threat to me, and that I was intimidated in my workplace as I was never certain what was an appropriate way to act or interact with my coworkers. They decided to take the verbiage to legal, and I quit soon afterwards as management that is this clueless will never change.

  14. I guess... by Genda · · Score: 5, Funny

    In a related story, Today the Arizona state legislature made Gays, Democrats, Liberals, Mexicans, Muslims, gay mixed drinks with fruit and umbrellas, small dogs, men's skin care products, evolution, gun control advocates, subcompact foreign cars, lite beer, pansies, petunias and 6 other flowers that begin with the letter 'P' illegal. When asked, leaders of the legislature said "Yeah, we know its unconstitutional, but tomorrow we're making the Constitution illegal."

  15. Remove annoy or offend and it's ok by Jason+Levine · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

    --
    My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
  16. Breaking news: Bill being withdrawn by roc97007 · · Score: 5, Informative

    If I could interrupt what passes for discussion in Slashdot,

    I heard this on the radio on the way into work this morning: That due to public outcry, the bill's authors realize they screwed the pooch on this one (deliberately being offensive...) and have quietly asked the governor not to sign it.

    There may be another bill later, but it may be slightly less insane.

    We now return you to your regularly scheduled panic.

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.