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Kentucky Bill Would Ban Anonymous Internet Posting

"An interactive service provider shall establish, maintain and enforce a policy to require information content providers to be conspicuously identified with all information provided by, at a minimum, their registered legal name.

Kentucky Representative Tim Couch, who in published reports said he was concerned about online bullying, filed HB 775 March 4. The bill -- which immediately attracted attention from privacy advocates and bloggers -- would ban anonymous Internet postings, and levy fines of $500 to $1,000 on the ISP for each violation.

"An interactive service provider" says the bill, "shall establish, maintain and enforce a policy to require information content providers to register a legal name, address and valid electronic mail address as a precondition of using the interactive service.

"An interactive service provider," continues the bill, "shall establish, maintain and enforce a policy to require information content providers to be conspicuously identified with all information provided by, at a minimum, their registered legal name.

"An interactive service provider shall establish reasonable procedures to enable any person to request and obtain disclosure of the legal name, address and valid electronic mail address of an information content provider who posts false or defamatory information about the person."

Finally, the bill says: "An interactive service provider that violates any of the provisions of Section 2 of this Act shall be fined five hundred dollars ($500) for the first offense and one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each subsequent offense."
Wayne E. Hanson served as a writer and editor with e.Republic from 1989 to 2013, having worked for several business units including Government Technology magazine, the Center for Digital Government, Governing, and Digital Communities. Hanson was a juror from 1999 to 2004 with the Stockholm Challenge and Global Junior Challenge competitions in information technology and education.