I'm associating myself with being pro the same standards of behavior when we're behind a keyboard that we adhere to when we speak in person, on the phone, or write a letter.
The internet is just another form of publication and communication. It's not like we don't have standards for print publications. What is the difference between the internet and a print publication really? An internet post can be printed. A newspaper can go e-edition and not be printed. How is a blog so different from a magazine that it shouldn't abide by the same rules?
All the legislation really does is to put electronic communication in the same category as other types of communications, because electronic communication is speech too.
Obviously you don't really get it. Thats ok, your kinda to old to get it. The internet is wonderful and prosperous because it is one of the last free places in the world. Legislation wether good intentioned or not, will always be a bad thing for the internet and most things honestly. Just turn off your computer, take some personal responsibility and leave a good thing alone. Its not broken and it does not need fixing. You should be thankful, don't assume you know what is best for the internet, leave it alone. I just want to let you know you are wrong and misguided, I have no interest in discussing it with you. Don't bother responding. Stop trying to control nature, you can't, you will lose in the end.
“Setting a good example is a far better way to spread ideals than through force of arms.”
-Ron Paul
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I think that there is some merit in an anti cyber-harassment law. Don’t know if the language in this bill is appropriate to the need yet. We will see how it works out in committee.
Some well publicized cases of teenage and young adult suicides driven by cyber attacks show the potential for very bad outcomes from a laissez-faire approach.
I believe that users of the internet should be subject to taking responsibility for their actions.
One case that comes to mind involved a college student live streaming his roommate having sex. The violated roommate ended up killing himself.
So a question to all in favor of “freedom”…
Does such an act (subversively filming and broadcasting private moments without consent) qualify as harassment?
Should such a violation of personal privacy be allowed and tolerated?
Just a discussion folks.....
Assume the best and ask questions.
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It seems to me this could be prosecuted under the same laws of a person who video taped the act through a window. I haven't read the details of the law but it seems to me that if we enforced the laws we have these things would be taken care of.
http://www.wedekingphotography.com
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Could be true.
There are other cases such as where teenage girls mercilessly cyber harassed another teenager to the point of hanging herself. Is there culpability in that?
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
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While I am all in favor of internet freedom I think some internet-specific "rules" are necessary -- analogous to the old "fire in a crowded theater" argument regarding free speech. Two aspects of cyber-harassment that distinguishes it from other harassment are it's longevity and wide reach. The audience in a "videotape through the window" scenario is fairly small -- limited by the number of physical copies of the tape that were made and distributed. A video posted online, or any other type of cyber-harassment, is potentially viewable by the entire universe of internet users. And once something is posted, it is almost impossible to effectively "unpost" it. Even if the original poster deletes the content, there is no way of knowing if others have copied the material or archived it. For example, here is PunaWeb from July 14, 2003...
http://web.archive.org/web/2003071409205...FORUM_ID=2&CAT_ID=1&Forum_Title=punaweb+forum
So someone who is defamed or harassed online has no real way to refute the offensive material or ensure that it will not pop up to be addressed again years down the line.
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I am all for those that harass, defame or slander a person being punished. We have laws in place for that. Enforce them. If we're not enforcing the laws in place what good does passing another law do, other than generate a press release for a politician.
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The laws are there already, they just have to be updated to include new means of communication.
Correct, Paul. The measure was introduced this year because the legislature's intent with respect to new forms of communication was not clearly enough expressed for the prosecutors to feel confident they have a solid charge to file.
dwedeking -- Prosecutors only charge the cases they can win, not all cases that have merit. If there is one area where they are weak, they will drop the charge. I guess it is a side effect of the public demanding the prosecutor's office to have a very high conviction ratio.
If there weren't weak points in the wording of the existing statute, the bill would not have been introduced.
If you ever got in the situation where everyone who looked at your case agreed that the behavior SHOULD be against the law and was INTENDED by lawmakers to be against the law, but the wording fell short of making that intention clear enough to prosecute, then I imagine you would be frustrated and in support of fixing the problem. Introducing a bill to amend the statute is the mechanism that exists to fix such issues.
ETA, I was talking here about SB 2104. it is NOT a new law. It is just a new line in an existing statute. Nevertheless, that requires a new measure to be introduced, passage through committees, and so forth.
The House Bill creating a new offense of cyber impersonation, I know nothing about what is behind it. I would think that it began to be a problem and a law was needed. This falls more in the area of identity theft and publishing personal info that encourages identity theft, which is as we know an emerging area of crime to which the laws need to come abreast.
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KathyH,
You go girl.
This is a great step in the correct direction. I hope this will help with prosecution of cyber harassment.
I have kept my real name and identity anonymous luckily. Because even now, a year since I have tangled with a former poster my anonymous name of orchidlandguy is still being used in cyber harassment.
I am thankful I never exposed my real identity because there are real nut cases out there who are going to make up stuff and just become fixated.
Just in case anyone reads the Big Island Chronicle and you see once again someone saying a poster is really me (orchidlandguy) it is not true. I only post here, and not very often. Some people are just obsessed.
Thank those who let me know when my anonymous name (orchidlandguy) is being used. whithout being flagged by others I would have no idea this person is still talking about me. Weird.
