Monday, January 09, 2006

Well Tan My Hide And Call Me Sally...

Better not. Call me Sally, I mean.

Create an e-annoyance, go to jail Perspectives CNET News.com

Annoying someone via the Internet is now a federal crime.

It's no joke. Last Thursday, President Bush signed into law a prohibition on posting annoying Web messages or sending annoying e-mail messages without disclosing your true identity.
In other words, it's OK to flame someone on a mailing list or in a blog as long as you do it under your real name. Thank Congress for small favors, I guess.
This ridiculous prohibition, which would likely imperil much of Usenet, is buried in the so-called Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act. Criminal penalties include stiff fines and two years in prison."

I'm all for anything that protects women from cyber-stalkers, but come on now. Please. Two years in the slammer if you piss someone off while anonymous? All I can say is thank the heavens most of the PJ Media gang are up front with their monickers. Talk about an annoying bunch that would be looking at jail time...

No comments: