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.
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.
And an excerpt from the bill:
“Whoever…utilizes any device or software that can be used to originate telecommunications or other types of communications that are transmitted, in whole or in part, by the Internet… without disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any person…who receives the communications…shall be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.”
This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Whatever happened to freedom of speech in this country? As a matter of fact I’ll violate this stupid ass law right now. Watch…
Dear Congress and other retarded government officials (especially Senator F. James Sensenbrenner Jr, a hick from Wisconsin who sponsored this bill), Thank you for passing a very retarded law that is pointless. You suck. Spend more time worrying about illegal immigrants and soldiers getting killed in Iraq instead of stupid people posting useless things on the internet. Scratch your asses. Signed, Portfolioso (which is not my real name, so arrest me)
Oh no! I just annoyed and harassed Senator Moron on the internet without disclosing my identity. This is a felony. As you can see, by ranting about the government, I clearly violated the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act, without mentioning one woman’s name.
Attention everyone: do not follow this law. Law Professor Orin Kerr says that “if speech is protected by the First Amendment, the statute is unconstitutional as applied and the indictment must be dismissed…”
Read the article here
Annoying someone via the Internet is now a federal crime.
January 12, 2006
Rants
No Comments
Portfolioso
And an excerpt from the bill:
This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Whatever happened to freedom of speech in this country? As a matter of fact I’ll violate this stupid ass law right now. Watch…
Dear Congress and other retarded government officials (especially Senator F. James Sensenbrenner Jr, a hick from Wisconsin who sponsored this bill), Thank you for passing a very retarded law that is pointless. You suck. Spend more time worrying about illegal immigrants and soldiers getting killed in Iraq instead of stupid people posting useless things on the internet. Scratch your asses. Signed, Portfolioso (which is not my real name, so arrest me)
Oh no! I just annoyed and harassed Senator Moron on the internet without disclosing my identity. This is a felony. As you can see, by ranting about the government, I clearly violated the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act, without mentioning one woman’s name.
Attention everyone: do not follow this law. Law Professor Orin Kerr says that “if speech is protected by the First Amendment, the statute is unconstitutional as applied and the indictment must be dismissed…”
Read the article here