New York Politicians Propose Bill To Eliminate Anonymity on the Internet

Posted by icarus on 24 May 2012 / 1 Comment

Why is it that Republicans always want to remove regulations except for when they want to take away your civil rights? I am 100%, emphatically against this bill. Let me break this down for you….Republican Senators in New York are proposing a bill that would force websites to gather your personal information if you post including legal name, home address and your IP address. This would apply to websites that are visible in New York….WHICH IS EVERY website on the internet.

If there is a bill named the XXXX PROTECTION ACT….9 times out of 10 – you had better bend over for the sweet government goodness that is about to come your way. They’re going to do something but it’s not going to be protecting you. Their reasoning for passing this law is because of “cyber bullies”, “anonymous criticisms of business” and eliminating “baseless political attacks”. This is what Fascism looks like.

The Huffington Post brings us this – article HERE:

Assemblyman Jim Conte (R-Huntington Station) explained that the legislation ”turns the spotlight on cyber-bullies by forcing them to reveal their identity or have their post removed.”

The legislation would also prevent people from posting anonymous criticisms of businesses. “Too often, rival businesses will post negative and false posts to hurt their competition,” writes Conte.

And lastly, the bills would help politicians. Conte again: “…the legislation will help cut down on the types of mean-spirited and baseless political attacks that add nothing to the real debate and merely seek to falsely tarnish the opponent’s reputation by using the anonymity of the Web.”

You can find the text of New York bill S06779 “The Internet Protection Act” HERE. The bill reads:

A WEB SITE ADMINISTRATOR UPON REQUEST SHALL REMOVE ANY COMMENTS POSTED ON HIS OR HER WEB SITE BY AN ANONYMOUS POSTER UNLESS SUCH ANONYMOUS POSTER AGREES TO ATTACH HIS OR HER NAME TO THE POST AND CONFIRMS THAT HIS OR HER IP ADDRESS, LEGAL NAME, AND HOME ADDRESS ARE ACCURATE. ALL WEB SITE ADMINISTRATORS SHALL HAVE A CONTACT NUMBER OR E-MAIL ADDRESS POSTED FOR SUCH REMOVAL REQUESTS, CLEARLY VISIBLE IN ANY SECTIONS WHERE COMMENTS ARE POSTED.