Kentucky Representative Tim Couch filed a bill this week to make anonymous posting online illegal.
The bill would require anyone who contributes to a website to register their real name, address and e-mail address with that site.
Their full name would be used anytime a comment is posted.
If the bill becomes law, the website operator would have to pay if someone was allowed to post anonymously on their site. The fine would be five-hundred dollars for a first offense and one-thousand dollars for each offense after that.
Representative Couch says he filed the bill in hopes of cutting down on online bullying. He says that has especially been a problem in his Eastern Kentucky district.
Action News 36 asked people what they thought about the bill.
Some said they felt it was a violation of First Amendment rights. Others say it is a good tool toward eliminating online harassment.
Represntative Couch says enforcing this bill if it became law would be a challenge.
I don't think there's much chance of a law like that passing the constitutionality test. I think most people look at anonymous comments with skepticism - people can post anything if they're not willing to put their name on it, so I don't take anonymous comments very seriously. If someone is willing to give their name and email address, I give their words more credibility and am more likely to respond.
This law sounds more like a thin-skinned lawmaker trying to intimidate those who would make comments critical of him.
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