That bill got stalled too! What's with New Joisey?

Joel

Ilena Rose
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Internet Backlash Stalls Jersey Civility Bill

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http://www.informationweek.com/shar...cleID=181503705

Internet Backlash Stalls Jersey Civility Bill

A New Jersey lawmaker's attempt to legislate civility on an Internet
discussion board runs into a wall of opposition from bloggers and
others who saw it as an attempt to stifle free speech.

By K.C. Jones,
March 14, 2006
URL:
http://www.informationweek.com/stor...cleID=181503705

A New Jersey Assemblyman's Internet civility bill is on ice since
opponents blasted it as an assault on free speech.

Assemblyman Peter Biondi and his staff said they were trying to curb
malicious exchanges on some local discussion boards when they
introduced a bill requiring people to provide their real names and
addresses before posting on public Web sites. The bill also stated
that hosts could be sued for failing to disclose the identities of
people disseminating false or defamatory information.

Biondi's staff drafted the measure late last year. In was introduced
in January. The bill hadn't even made it to committee before a small
weekly newspaper published an article about it and Internet news
providers began spreading the word. Then, callers from as far away as
Canada deluged Biondi's office with complaints.

"For a bill that's basically one of 45 just sitting there to be picked
out ? and for people in Portland, Oregon and Canadian broadcasters to
be calling about it ? it's a little bizarre," Biondi's Chief of Staff
Scott Ross said during an interview. "For something that's not even on
the radar screen in Trenton, it's incredible. It's definitely a first
for us. It hit the Drudge Report and it was like 'Holy moly!"

Ross said that Biondi and his staff were responding to requests from
local constituents who complained about the viciousness of local
discussion boards littered with name-calling. They were shocked that
the bill ? drafted to bring decorum to Internet discussions ? drew an
intense response from Internet users far beyond the Garden State's
boundaries.

"We veered out of our comfort zone with this one," Ross said. "We're
usually open space, quality-of-life kind of guys. We veered into
technology and we were pretty much taken off guard when got hit with a
couple hundred e-mails last week."

BuzzMachine blogger and journalist Jeff Jarvis said he is proud to
have started the forums that prompted Biondi to introduce the
"stupidest legislation in memory."

Critics said the law would be unconstitutional and impossible to
enforce. Ross said he can see things from their perspective, but he
still believes people should maintain civility online.

"You could be talking to your neighbor and not even know it," he said.

Biondi is anticipating a legal opinion from his state legislature's
nonpartisan research division by the end of this week.

http://www.SecureIX.com ***

Ilena Ros

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Joel34