XENOPHONZ opened this issue on Jan 12, 2006 ยท 72 posts
jjsemp posted Thu, 12 January 2006 at 2:06 PM
Attached Link: http://news.com.com/Create+an+e-annoyance%2C+go+to+jail/2010-1028_3-6022491.html
The following is an excerpt from a CNET NEWS STORY which might be of interest to you all. And I quote: ________________________________________________________Annoying someone via the Internet is now a federal crime.
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.
In other words, it's OK to flame someone on a mailing list or in a blog as long as you do it under your real name. Thank Congress for small favors, I guess.
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.
"The use of the word 'annoy' is particularly problematic," says Marv Johnson, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. "What's annoying to one person may not be annoying to someone else."