Kentuckians Is Smart, Ya'll

Kentucky House member Tim Couch (not the former Kentucky Quarterback), has proposed a bill that would "make it illegal" for websites to allow anonymous postings from it's readers. The bill would require that websites collect user information like full name, address and email address, and whenever someone posts one a site, their full name would be required to show with their post. A $500-$1000 fine would be levied for each offense on a given website.

Right. So, a single state wants to make a regulation that could affect the entire Internets, and the reason? Rep. Couch wants to curb Internet bullying. Well, that almost sounds reasonable enough, until you realize that what sparked this sudden interest in Internet bullying is not that a girl somewhere committed suicide because of e-Bullying, but because he himself has been subject to e-Bullying. That's right, a grown up man, much less a politician, is upset because he's been criticized online somewhere and he didn't know which anonymous constituent it was.

Now I lived in Kentucky for a good 9 years of my life, and I have to say, this is one of the most asinine things I've seen come out of the State Legislature in a long time. Anonymity is one of the things that allows certain types of communities to exist *cough*Gay Gamer*cough*, because some people are not yet ready to be out and open about certain things. And that is a right guaranteed to us. Besides, if you take away the anonymity of the Internets, all the crazy Republicans wouldn't be able to hook up with young boys, and Governors wouldn't be able to maintain a secret involvement with prostitution rings for long, and we just couldn't have that, now could we?

Anonymous Web postings targeted [Kentucky Herald]
[via: Ars Technica]