Friday, September 28, 2012

Could Obama silence the free press?

Everyone understands that the Internet can be used for good or bad. Likewise, anonymity can be good or bad: See Franklin or Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense.” Writers like Paine knew that going public with a name would invite a swinging rope.
Today, however, online posting presents certain pitfalls, namely, bullying. As with certain medical treatments, though, the treatment can often be worse than the disease. The New York Senate bill could end posting online!
Sen. Thomas F. O’Mara, from Big Flats, N.Y., has introduced S6779, requiring an anonymous post to be removed if the poster won’t subsequently provide legal name, IP address and a home address!
From the actual bill: “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.”
It’s pretty obvious that someone up there in New York doesn’t fully understand the Internet, or the full implications. Posting a home address, of course, could be extremely dangerous.

Read more: http://www.wnd.com/2012/09/could-obama-silence-the-free-press/?cat_orig=diversions

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