Tim Couch Trying to Ban Anonymous Internet Comments

Last week, according to Liveleak.com, Kentucky Representative Tim Couch filed a bill which would require anyone who contributes to a website to expose their real name, address and e-mail address. If Couch gets his way, any individual posting a comment on a website would have their full name shown and all of their identifying information on file with their website. Websites who defied the law and allowed anonymous posting would be subject to heavy fines. Couch claims the law was created to cut down on "online harassment" - I say it is intended to cut down on that pesky phenomenon known as Free Speech.

So, Tim Couch, listen and listen well: Dissidence is not a crime. A law like this can have only one purpose. And if the government enacts a law requiring identification of individuals who voice their opinions, the government can have only one purpose. If I disagree with my friends, my family, a fellow poster or my government, I am free to say so. Most of us are aware to some degree of the impact the "Patriot Acts" have had on our freedoms. There are no-fly lists kept by the government, on individuals against whom no charge has been brought. The government feels little obligation to answer to us now about its actions - a government of the people, by the people, for the people. But still, we speak (or write) our minds.

Senators and laws such as this one really anger me. I have spent time in countries where free speech is not allowed. I have seen the fear from the very real threats which prevent them from speaking. I have read the stories of people who face imprisonment, house arrest and execution, all because of their opinions. I have always valued the freedom of speech which has long been ours, and I have watched as our openness with our speech has become more guarded. A law such as this one would make individuals afraid - or at least more wary - of voicing their opinions in an online environment. This would make it even more simple for the government or any disapproving individual to track us down based solely on our opinions. By branding individuals who exert their opinions, the media, including Associated Content, would be shackled to a new and frightening set of regulations. In most countries, the media and the internet are the last outlets for free speech.

I can only hope that a law this ludicrous will not be enacted. Then again, when the post-9/11 attack on Iraq was first proposed, I was certain it would never go through. At any rate, while I can post anonymously, I will choose not to. If Mr. Couch is searching for anonymous comments on himself, he will not find them here. Tim Couch is an idiot, the product of a government which no longer values our right to free speech. Yes, Tim Couch is an idiot, and my name is Rebecca White-Glanders. Bring it on!