Anonymous Forum Posting Prohibited in NJ Bill

Fortunately, not yet law...

[rogerd]

Legislation was introduced by Peter J. Biondi in New Jersey to require ISPs and site operators to force detailed registration of all posters:

[app.com...]

This would appear to cover forums, blogs, wikis, sites with reviews, etc. Where does one begin to criticize this bill?
-impossible to enforce, particularly at the state level
-any number of freedom of speech issues

Sounds like Mr. Biondi has been getting hammered on the Web. ;)

The good news: he's apparently reconsidering [nj.com].

[edited by: rogerd at 5:21 pm (utc) on Mar. 8, 2006]

[bcolflesh]

It's still pretty rare to find politicians (and their aides, who actually do the research/recommendations) that have any understanding of web technology - it probably just sounded like a good idea to him at the time...

[rogerd]

More good news - the link to the bill went dead in the last hour (post above edited to provide alternate link). Maybe that prefigures the fate of the bill.

[walkman]

think of how many other stupid laws never receive any scrutiny, and are simply passed.
We're in huge trouble...

[rogerd]

Letting some daylight in is the best solution for these kinds of laws. I've seen state laws pass with barely a glance. One rep drafts it, gets a few buddies to sign on as co-sponsors, the rest vote with nary a glance. Scary indeed.

[Moosetick]

I saw someone suggest the three strikes and your out law for legislators. It goes something like this...

If a legislator sponsors/passes 3 laws that are overturned by by the courts as unconstitutional then they are banned from holding public office.

This seems somewhat harsh but it would likely prevent laws from getting passed by legislators who didn't even read them.

[twist]

If a legislator sponsors/passes 3 laws that are overturned by by the courts as unconstitutional then they are banned from holding public office.

You want elected officials to be held responsible for their actions? Thats simply crazy talk, unless of course you tacked a pay raise for them onto it ;)

[rogerd]

Getting back to the original bill... it may be ludicrous... but I wonder if in the long run there will be more demands for accountability on sites with user-added content? If I have a static website and slander you, you will have some legal recourse through the site contact info, domain registration, ISP, etc.

If I have a forum and people slander you daily, it's a fairly tortuous path to the actual poster's identity; it may not be trackable at all in some cases.

As a forum owner/admin, I can say that requiring positive identification to register would certainly cut down on spam and general idiocy. Registration and membership would drop, too. :)

[Moosetick]

"As a forum owner/admin, I can say that requiring positive identification to register would certainly cut down on spam and general idiocy."

I remember the BBS days when some sites wanted you to mail them a copy of your driver's license to verify identity. It was a hastle but worth it to get hot ascII pictures of girls!