[TechDirt] Arizona Internet Censorship Bill So Ridiculous, Even The MPAA And RIAA Are Against It

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A new bill has passed through the Arizona state legislature that would allow for broad censorship of the internet. As with many such bills, this one is weakly « disguised » as an attempt to deal with online « bullying » and « stalking. » However, as with many such attempts to outlaw « being a jerk » online, this one goes way, way too far. It says that it’s unlawful to « annoy or offend » someone online, for example. The bill is so bad that even Media Coalition — a group backed by the MPAA and the RIAA — is arguing against it.

The specifics of the bill take an existing law meant to stop harassing phone calls and applies it broadly to the internet. […]

As Eugene Volokh notes in his own discussion of the bill As Eugene Volokh notes in his own discussion of the bill, a telephone is a one-to-one device. The internet is many-to-many, and it makes for a very different situation when you’re talking about content designed to annoy or offend […].

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120402/18275918341/arizona-internet-censorship-bill-so-ridiculous-even-mpaa-riaa-are-against-it.shtml