New Jersey Bill to Prohibit Anonymous Defamatory Forum Postings

[Tom Snyder]

You KNOW this will soon be here, too....

ASSEMBLY, No. 1327
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
212th LEGISLATURE

 
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2006 SESSION
 
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman PETER J. BIONDI
District 16 (Morris and Somerset)
 
SYNOPSIS

     Makes certain operators of interactive computer services and Internet service providers liable to persons injured by false or defamatory messages posted on public forum websites.
 
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.
   
An Act concerning the posting of certain Internet messages and supplementing chapter 38A of Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.
 
     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
 
     1.  As used in this act:

     "Information content provider" means any person or entity that is responsible, in whole or in part, for the creation or development of information provided through the Internet or any other interactive computer service.

     "Interactive computer service" means any information system, service, or access software provider that provides or enables computer access by multiple users to a computer server, including specifically a service or system that provides service to the Internet.

     "Internet" means the international computer network of both federal and non-federal interoperable packet switched data networks.

     "Internet service provider" or "provider" means any person, business or organization qualified to do business in this State that provides individuals, corporations, or other entities with the ability to connect to the Internet through equipment that is located in this State.

     "Operator" means any person, business or organization qualified to do business in this State that operates an interactive computer service.
 
     2.  The operator of any interactive computer service or an Internet service provider shall 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.
 
     3.  An operator of an interactive computer service or an Internet service provider shall establish and maintain reasonable procedures 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.
 
     4.  Any person who is damaged by false or defamatory written messages that originate from an information content provider who posts such messages on a public forum website may file suit in Superior Court against an operator or provider that fails to establish, maintain and enforce the policy required pursuant to section 2 of P.L.    , c.    (C.) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and may recover compensatory and punitive damages and the cost of the suit, including a reasonable attorney's fee, cost of investigation and litigation from such operator or provider.
 
     5. This act shall take effect on the 90th day following enactment.
 
 
STATEMENT
 
     This bill would require an operator of any interactive computer service or an Internet service provider to establish, maintain and enforce a policy requiring an information content provider who posts messages on a public forum website either to be identified by legal name and address or to register a legal name and address with the operator or provider prior to posting messages on a public forum website.

     The bill requires an operator of an interactive computer service or an Internet service provider to establish and maintain reasonable procedures 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.

     In addition, the bill makes any operator or Internet service provider liable for compensatory and punitive damages as well as costs of a law suit filed by a person damaged by the posting of such messages if the operator or Internet service provider fails to establish, maintain and enforce the policy required by section 2 of the bill.

[Joseph S]

Ha. Ha. That will go nowhere. Do they even understand what that entails?

[Tom Snyder]

Oh yeah, I forgot... the goverment NEVER passes misguided, unenforceable, "sombody's-gotta-do-soimething" laws with tons of unintended consequences that give the bad guys something to laugh at and hurt the good guys with more work, greater expense and moutains of bureacratic BS...

[Tom Snyder]

Holy crud! Logic prevails!

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

Mar 14, 2006 04:04 PM

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.

[Joseph S]

Yeah, for this and yeah for K.C. Jones finding another career after basketball.

[tazman]

What if you just hurt the person's fealings, can you get away with that!!!?  Dohhh. {fart}

[John L]

This violates our Freedom of Speech as indicated in the Bill of Rights.

-John L.