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Via Slashdot, The New Jersey legislature is considering a
bill that would require operators of public forums to collect users' legal names and addresses, and
effectively disallow anonymous speech on online forums. This raises some serious issues, such as to what extent local and state
governments can go in enacting and enforcing Internet legislation."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.
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