[privacy] Privacy & Anonymity in the Age of Full Disclosure

["Fergie" <fergdawg () netzero net>]

Elizabeth Daley:

[snip]

Two new recent bills introduced to the [New Jersey] state assembly require Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to 
disclose user information in any claim of defamation. If these bills were to pass, individuals who are accused of 
online bad-talk in New Jersey would face instant disclosure of their identities to their accusers.

While it may seem that having one's identity revealed may not be that serious, Paul Levy, an attorney who deals with 
cases of online defamation for the Center for the Public Citizen Litigation has seen just how serious it can be. Levy 
is currently representing one person who was identified as having criticized another person in his community. After his 
identity was fully revealed, he was forced to move out of his hometown.

However being identified doesn't just mean you suffer humiliation or threats, being identified also means a formal 
lawsuit may be brought against you, costing time and money.

To make matters worse, the other New Jersey bill (A2623) would require ISPs to remove any "inappropriate" content when 
notified by a user of material that is defamatory or offensive. This means that ISPs, who will not have time, resources 
or legal expertise to determine if something is or is not defamatory, will erase anything that may be considered 
offensive or illegal.

[snip]

More:
http://www.alternet.org/wiretap/37269/

- ferg


--
"Fergie", a.k.a. Paul Ferguson
 Engineering Architecture for the Internet
 fergdawg () netzero net or fergdawg () sbcglobal net
 ferg's tech blog: http://fergdawg.blogspot.com/

_______________________________________________
privacy mailing list
privacy () whitestar linuxbox org
http://www.whitestar.linuxbox.org/mailman/listinfo/privacy