Trolling Will Soon Be Illegal in Arizona

[accadacca]

OH SNAP!!

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Trolling Could Get You 25 Years in Jail in Arizona

One of the Internet's basic tenets—the right to be as much of a myopic, infantile asshat as humanly possible—is currently under attack in Arizona. A sweeping update to the state's telecommunications harrasment bill could make naughty, angry words a Class 1 misdemeanor. Or worse.

It's a dangerous precedent, yet another bill written and supported by legislators who fundamentally don't understand the nature of the internet. And I'm not just being a, well, you know.

Arizona House Bill 2549 passed both legislative houses last Thursday and is now awaiting approval from Arizona's governor Brewer. The statute states that:

"It is unlawful for any person, with intent to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy or offend, to use a 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."

Emphasis added. If the electronic devices and means are employed to stalk a victim, the penalty bumps up to a Class 3 felony.

For those not intimately familiar with Arizona penal law, a Class 1 misdemeanor is punishable by a $2,500 fine and up to six months in jail (it's the most aggressive misdemeanor charge the state can bring). A Class 3 felony, meanwhile, carries a minimum sentence of 2.5 years for non-dangerous offenders with no prior record. And a max of 25 years in jail.

Opponents of the bill argue that the wording is overly broad and could easily be interpreted to include not just one-on-one communications but public forums like 4Chan, Reddit, and anywhere else that allows commenting. You thought the banhammer was bad? Try handcuffs.

It could also have a chilling effect on free speech by prohibiting shocking or "profane" language online. And since the bill stipulates that the offense only has to occur on Arizona soil (since a Facebook comment is definitely a geographic place, right?) that basically puts the entire Internet on notice.

The bill's supporters argue that the steps are necessary to prevent online bullying. Despite the public outcry, the bill has seen very little resistance from elected officials. However, given how well Arizona's other recent, short-lived, and generally draconian propositions—-including its racial profiling, anti-gay adoption, and anti-immigration bills—-have fared, House Bill 2549 might not be a law for long, assuming Governor Brewer even signs it.

In the mean time, feel free to leave your thoughts on the matter on Brewer's Facebook page. You know, while it's still legal. [Arizona State House of Reps via CBLDF]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5898585/itll-soon...oll-in-arizona

[restrac2000]

"Overly broad" is the understatement of the year.

[Scott Card]

"annoy or offend" I'm quite certain that about 90% of those on this site are guilty. The other 10% fall into the " obscene, lewd or profane language or suggest any lewd or lascivious act".

This site may be shut down in Arizona....

[Don]

Wow. I don't think it's trolling or a stretched reference to think about Orwell's 1984 after reading this article...
So who get's do decide WTF is obscene or profane? And speaking of profane, Merriam-Webster.com defines profane as
1: to treat (something sacred) with abuse, irreverence, or contempt : desecrate
2: to debase by a wrong, unworthy, or vulgar use
— pro

[Iceaxe]

I thought you were talking about something else.....



***kicks a rock as he slowly walks away***

[Scott Card]

Ice = guilty (and often multiple times per day)

[Deathcricket]

Yet another indication our politicians are out of control.

trolling on the internet is pretty much my greatest joy in life.

[Byron]

Everyone is all jacked up on bullying right now with all these kids offing themselves. I believe it's illegal to harass and threaten as it is, but of course some politician wants to score brownie points. They have to do something, right?

It used to be you could escape or avoid bullies. Now they can follow you everywhere, via your computer and cell phone. These kids are so damn addicted to these things. A couple years ago my girlfriend and I took her teenage daughter (19) to Hawaii with us. She had her thumbs glued to that phone the whole time. If we were "out of range" she would get crabby.

I personally doubt Brewer will sign on to this. If she does...well, have any of you seen the South Park episode lampooning the TSA? Most people are apparently so stupid that they can't even think straight. Thank God for those brilliant, high shaking heads in government, eh?