softwareNerd Posted March 7, 2006 Report Share Posted March 7, 2006 As a rule, ISP's know the name and address of people who use their service. However, to the actual web-sites (e.g. Blogger, or OO.net) people are often anonymous. This bill, introduced in the New Jersey Legislature, asks software service providers to do more to police those who use their sites. My understanding of what it says is as follows: if someone posts defamatory content on a forum, and if the aggrieved party sues, and if the forum owner cannot produce the name and address of the poster then... the forum owner can be held liable for damages, rather than the original poster I have no idea if this bill has any chance of passing, but I hope it does not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew J Posted March 8, 2006 Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 *Feeling slightly sick to my stomach* Gross. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AisA Posted March 8, 2006 Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 I understand the bill's sponsor is a Republican. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softwareNerd Posted March 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2006 No surprise there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JordanLand Posted March 10, 2006 Report Share Posted March 10, 2006 That's ridiculous. I certainly hope we get a public outcry about this invasion of privacy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unconquered Posted March 11, 2006 Report Share Posted March 11, 2006 That's ridiculous. I certainly hope we get a public outcry about this invasion of privacy. I don't see any "invasion of privacy" involved. The real issue is whether a forum owner *should* be held responsible for the comments of others. Actually to a degree, they should. If their forum - which is under their control - sanctions the posting of material which libels somebody, and permits it to be displayed after the content has been pointed out to them, then they are actively abetting an illegal act. Same principle as hosting pirated videos for downloads. Who's going to argue that the only responsible party is the uploader, if the one paying for the hosting is informed of the content and fails to remove it? Now, it is illogical to say "original poster vs. the forum owner", as this law apparently says. They should *both* be responsible parties, with different responsibilities per the different context. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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