Every court that has addressed the issue has held that individual internet subscribers have a right to engage in anonymous internet speech.

-- US District Court Judge Victor Marrero, ACLU vs Ashcroft

Not to be deterred by precedent or the fact that this sort of thing has been found unconstitutional in the relatively recent past by the Federal courts, New Jersey Assemblyman Peter J. Biondi (R-District 16) proposes to make web site operators liable for false or defamatory messages posted in their forums. He plans to facilitate this by requiring web site operators to "establish, maintain and enforce a policy to require any information content provider who posts written messages on a public forum website either to be identified by a legal name and address, or to register a legal name and address with the operator of the interactive computer service or the Internet service provider through which the information content provider gains access to the interactive computer service or Internet, as appropriate."

In other words, you can't post online unless you give up your full legal name and address. But this act doesn't stop there. It also requires site operators "to enable any person to request and obtain disclosure of the legal name and address of an information content provider who posts false or defamatory information about the person on a public forum website." So not only must you give your real identity to post, you are also subject to other people taking offense and demanding to know your true identity.

It gets even worse: any person who feels they've had false or defamatory messages posted about them on a web site can sue the web site operator for damages.

I wonder what part of "individual internet subscribers have a right to engage in anonymous internet speech" isn't clear to Assemblyman Biondi. Why does he hate the First Amendment so much? Why does he want to create a chilling effect on speech? If such laws should ever actually take effect (and not be immediately discarded by the courts), you can be sure that rather than face potential litigation, most web site operators will simply close their public forums.

If you live in New Jersey and you'd like to contact Assemblyman Biondi to remind him that in our America, the people have a right to be anonymous online as guaranteed by the First Amendment right to free speech and freedom of association, click the "Contact your Legislator" link on Biondi's homepage. Just don't say anything false or defamatory.

---Nick

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