Do anti-trolling laws inhibit or encourage free speech?

Fuzzy_

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It's all fun and games until somebody posts a photochopped photo of your face on a naked body on a porn site because you called him a 'jerk' in some forum post. Would you all be so casual about this issue if it were you? What if it were your daughter? These sorts of situations are surprisingly common, and Fuzzy has seen it often, unfortunately.

This isn't about the government trying to control people's lives. This bill is about giving people the ability to take the law into their own hands and find out (quickly and easily) who this jerk is. ISP's and webmasters would be legally forced to release their IP address, email address, aliases, etc. From that point on, you can do what you feel is needed to deal with this jerk.
 

Klingsor

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This isn't about the government trying to control people's lives. This bill is about giving people the ability to take the law into their own hands and find out (quickly and easily) who this jerk is. ISP's and webmasters would be legally forced to release their IP address, email address, aliases, etc. From that point on, you can do what you feel is needed to deal with this jerk.

Um . . . that sounds a little scary. Virtual vigilantism?
 

Fuzzy_

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Um . . . that sounds a little scary. Virtual vigilantism?
Not at all. Fuzzy's whole point is that this should be taken out of the virtual realm and into the realm of the courts where real people can handle real issues.

But most importantly, these sorts of laws should discourage serious trolling because these cowards are no longer anonymous.
 

Klingsor

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Not at all. Fuzzy's whole point is that this should be taken out of the virtual realm and into the realm of the courts where real people can handle real issues.

But most importantly, these sorts of laws should discourage serious trolling because these cowards are no longer anonymous.

As long as you're talking about taking legal action.

Your "you can do what you feel is needed to deal with this jerk" line had me a bit concerned. Is all.
 

Fuzzy_

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As long as you're talking about taking legal action.

Your "you can do what you feel is needed to deal with this jerk" line had me a bit concerned. Is all.
:biggrin1: Well, Fuzzy would go the legal route, but if somebody wanted to go old-school, that would be fine with Fuzzy... some trolls need some extra attention.:hug:

Speaking of extra attention, Arizona has tabled a bill that could land a naughty troll in prison for up tot 25 years. This is Tuesday's House Bill summary. As you can see, it has been passed pretty far into the legislature, with few modifications. This bill, unlike the UK bill, wouldn't force websites or ISP's to give out personal information, but it would drastically increase the penalties for abusing others online (or using any other form of electronic media). This isn't government heavy-handedness; similar laws already exist in most states for telephone harassment.
 
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