10 Jul 2009

HR 1966: Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act

, , ,

Pam Geller points out rightly that if this feel-good piece of House legislation introduced by Linda Sanchez back in April passes, all you have to do is offend someone and you can go to prison.

This law is unconstitutional, a blatant violation of the First Amendment. It destroys the basic tenets of the Constitution. The left is ripping it to shreds. You can view the bill here.

This represents the end of political blogging and free speech on the world wide web.

If both bills are not opposed and thrown out then the First Amendment will become nothing more than a relic of a bygone age.

That this is even being proposed speaks volumes as to how far America has fallen. Here is the language in the bill:

    a) Whoever transmits in interstate or foreign commerce any communication, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to a person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

    ‘(b) As used in this section-

    ‘(1) the term ‘communication’ means the electronic transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of information of the user’s choosing, without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received;

    ‘(2) the term ‘electronic means’ means any equipment dependent on electrical power to access an information service, including email, instant messaging, blogs, websites, telephones, and text messages.’.

What this means?

    U.S. House of Representatives would make it a felony to offend someone online.

    A felony.

    Under this new law you would not just be slapped on the wrist and have to pay a fine.

    You would go to big boy prison.

StumbleUpon.com
2 Feedbacks on "HR 1966: Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act"

Thalpy

Two things seem to be at work here: well intentioned, ignorant people having no idea about the unintended consequences of anything seeking to fix an unfix-able world, OR evil just being evil.

Chuck Schumer must fit in here somehow.



m

Ack. This seems too blunt a tool. It is a real problem, but this doesn’t seem like the right solution.



Comments

Please Leave a Comment!




Please note: Comments may be moderated. It may take a while for them to show on the page.
















Feeds
Entries (RSS)
Comments (RSS)
Feed Shark