Arizona bill makes it illegal to 'annoy or offend' online The Arizona legislature has passed a bill that makes it illegal to annoy anyone over the internet. You think we're joking? The Reg – solid and stolid defender of all that is right and true – does not joke about matters of such import. Check it out: It is unlawful for any person, with intent to terrify, intimidate, threaten, …
This post has been deleted by its author
What about the 1st amendment? That would probably be the bit of the bill that excludes constitutionally protect rights.
Here's part of the Bill:
(b) Does not include constitutionally protected activity or other activity authorized by law, the other person, the other person's authorized representative or if the other person is a minor, the minor's parent or guardian.
In other words, the bill itself appears to exclude 1st amendment rights from being covered. But hey, why let that get in the way of a good scare story?
So the law is null and void then?
The 1st Amendment is about all manner of things. This includes things that are likely to offend or be considred obscene even if it isn't the intent of the speaker to be a troll.
Surely you understood the Mel Brooks reference in the summary. Or perhaps that was wishful thinking.
You don't understand how these neo-GOP politicians think. Well, mostly NOT think.
If you can't legislate morality, then you have to adjudicate it.
Isn't Arizona the state where the chief justice of the state supreme court is facing a complaint for choking a female justice during an argument about a political ruling? Whoops, I see it was Wisconsin. Can't even keep my nutbags straight, eh?
> What about the 1st amendment?
Remember that: a) current US courts hold that while the protections of the US constitution do not apply to non-citizens, or outside its borders, their laws do apply outside the borders (e.g. a ban on on-line gambling for US citizens resulted in people running such operations external to the borders being prosecuted); b) the US has shown itself willing to use the current assymmetric extradition treaties to haul people within its borders for prosecution.
Annoyed your spouse called and asked you to buy milk? Lock them up!
Offended at something you saw on TV? Now you have a legal right to sue!
Upset by someone calling you a bad name? Bam! Jail time for them!
No longer do we have to turn people away at the border for threatening to get drunk and dig up celebrities, or blow up airports because of bad weather - we can actually throw them in jail for using the Internet at all!
And now, if you'll excuse me, please stop the world, as I believe I accidentally boarded the ride to insanity.
"It is unlawful for any person, with intent to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy or offend, to use any electronic or digital device and use any obscene, lewd or profane language or suggest any lewd or lascivious act, or threaten to inflict physical harm to the person or property of any person."
It's an anti-stalker and anti-scumbag law, and, golly, maybe Register readers and writers -will- have to think twice about what they say. The offence is to use (1) an electronic or digital device AND (2a) dirty talk OR (2b) a real verbal threat of physical or property injury AND (3) the deliberate intention to "terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy or offend". Some of which words also may mean something different in a law bill, such as if "annoy" turns out to mean "to cost somebody money without their consent", but I am just guessing.
Misspelling annoys me, but to be an offence you would have to -deliberately- misspell words for that deliberate purpose. And they would have to be dirty or scary words like "bottum" or "nale bomb".
if some moron in Arizona is annoyed by an article on El Reg, the whole staff of El Reg can then be extradited to the freedom-loving USA and sentenced to life (or death)
Remember that bit in the Simpsons Movie where Springfield is sealed under a dome? Maybe it's about time to do the same thing for the whole USA (it would solve their problem with illegal immigrants and trrsts trying to sneak in)
Arizona is really a beautiful state and in my day to day dealings I tend to come across a lot less rednecks than other places I have lived. Still because our elections are held in winter when all the old rich people come to enjoy the mild climate our politicians are beyond wack. Our governor is a prescription drug junky transvestite that make W Bush look like a good speaker. My Sheriff would rather investigate Obama's birth certificate than prosecute 400 sex crimes he dropped the ball on. Basically Arizona is a corrupt Republican machine similar to the Dem machines in Chicago or Jersey.
This post has been deleted by its author
As a former Arizonian, I would like to point out that this law was probably the brainchild of some pansy Californian immigrants, likely from San Francisco. You know the type. They usually have a common first name, but omit a redundant consonant -- typically the letter "c" from a "ck" combination.
;-P
P.S. Have I annoyed you enough? I'm glad I don't still live in Arizona, then.
P.P.S. It's a good thing I moved, because I'm sure at least half of what I post online would land me in jail under this new law, and I'm relatively nice compared to most :)
Notice the use of the work 'and' in the following sentence:
"It is unlawful for any person, with intent to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy or offend, to use any electronic or digital device AND use any obscene, lewd or profane language or suggest any lewd or lascivious act, or threaten to inflict physical harm to the person or property of any person."
i.e You can still intend to annoy and offend so long as you don't resort to profanity or threats of physical violence. Pretty sensible IMHO, and hopefuly will result in a higher intellectual standard of trolling...
This post has been deleted by its author
Well,
you, for one, will not be an example of "higher intellectual standard of trolling" (sic!), that's for sure - since when "so long as you don't resort to profanity" is considered "pretty sensible" per YHO?
Posturing rednecks are posturing rednecks, (simple-minded) logic always gives them away...
Nobody should try anything to bring to book the vile, vicious, empty-headed, nothing-to-say trolls who spend their miserable lives doing naught but threatening, bullying and cursing those of us with a higher than Kindergarten education?
There, fixed that for ya... Got my coat... it's the one with McGuffy's Reader in the pocker.
" If you can mangle the spelling and grammar as well, that adds reasonable doubt over what you actually said, or meant. Some might argue that a large proportion of internet users have been doing this for years."
And there was me thinking the vast majority of internet users were just thick. The reality is that they're all clever bastards who saw this coming, and it was me being thick all along.
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
