image:13823:0::0

Recently, a MySpace user committed suicide after she received numerous posts by an anonymous user, who turned out to be her neighbor. Another person, an ad executive, also committed suicide in a similar manner after someone posted comments anonymously. To avoid this online bullying in the future, Kentucky representative Tim Couch plans to introduce a bill this week to make anonymous posting online illegal.

The bill would require website owners to force potential users to give their name, address and email address before they post a comment. When they post a comment, their full name would be displayed.

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 $500 for a first offense and $1,000 for each subsequent offense.

Representative Couch said he filed this bill to curtail online bullying activity, which seems to be a problem in his eastern Kentucky district.

Mixed reactions followed the bill's announcement -- some back it, while others are against it, saying it is a violation of First Amendment rights.

Representative Couch said passing this bill would be a challenge for him.

It is difficult to enforce a law online. Because there are so many countries involved, it won’t be an easy task for website operators to check and monitor each comment. There is already an OpenID concept, so if the sites want to avoid anonymous postings, they can use the OpenID option or register at their sites.

Do you approve this bill?