|
|
Article: PRESERVING ANONYMITY ON THE INTERNET.(Critical Essay)
- Article from:
- USA TODAY
- Article date:
- November 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Society for the Advancement of Education. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
"Legislators should be particularly wary of laws that require sweeping changes to communications technology in order to serve speech-restricting goals."
IN A 1997 DECISION, a Federal district court in Georgia invalidated a state law criminalizing anonymous and pseudonymous Internet communications. In so doing, the court issued a decision consistent with centuries of American tradition and jurisprudence. Throughout the history of the U.S., pseudonymous and anonymous authors have made a rich contribution to political discourse. Had the court held any other way, it would have fallen into the common trap of treating the Internet as being unique, unrelated to any ...