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Title: Websites to be forced to identify trolls under new measures
Source:
BBC
URL Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-18404621
Published: Jun 11, 2012
Author: BBC
Post Date: 2012-06-11 20:09:35 by We The People
Keywords: None
Views: 7316
Comments: 20
Sites such as Facebook have been used to abuse people under the mask of anonymity Websites will soon to be forced to identify people who have posted defamatory messages online. New government proposals say victims have a right to know who is behind malicious messages without the need for costly legal battles. The powers will be balanced by measures to prevent false claims in order to get material removed. Last week, a British woman won a court order forcing Facebook to identify users who had harassed her. Nicola Brookes had been falsely branded a paedophile and drug dealer by users - known as trolls - on Facebook. Facebook, which did not contest the order, will now reveal the IP addresses of people who had abused her so she can prosecute them. The new powers, to be added to the Defamation Bill, will make this process far less time-consuming and costly, the government said. Complying with requests would afford the website greater protection from being sued in the event of a defamation claim. End to 'scurrilous rumour' Currently, in legal terms, every website "hit" - visit - on a defamatory article can be counted as a separate offence. This means many websites remove articles as soon as a defamation claim is made - either rightly or wrongly. "Website operators are in principle liable as publishers for everything that appears on their sites, even though the content is often determined by users," said Justice Secretary Ken Clarke. "But most operators are not in a position to know whether the material posted is defamatory or not and very often - faced with a complaint - they will immediately remove material. Nicola Brookes said the abuse started after she posted a message about an X Factor star "Our proposed approach will mean that website operators have a defence against libel as long as they identify the authors of allegedly defamatory material when requested to do so by a complainant." Mr Clarke said the measures would mean an end to "scurrilous rumour and allegation" being posted online without fear of adequate punishment. "The government wants a libel regime for the internet that makes it possible for people to protect their reputations effectively but also ensures that information online can't be easily censored by casual threats of litigation against website operators. "It will be very important to ensure that these measures do not inadvertently expose genuine whistleblowers, and we are committed to getting the detail right to minimise this risk."
Websites to be forced to identify trolls under new measures
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#1. To: We The People (#0)
It is about time. So let's start naming names: yukon, gatlin, harrowup, grandIsland, 22rifle, Goldi-Lox. Let us not forget special mention: SOD.
Don't worry, weeps; they're looking for humans.
I'm not worried, Rear Admiral Poopdick. :o)
"If men through fear, fraud or mistake, should in terms renounce and give up any essential natural right, the eternal law of reason and the great end of society, would absolutely vacate such renunciation; the right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty, it is not in the power of Man to alienate this gift, and voluntarily become a slave." Samuel Adams, Rights of the Colonists, 1772
If they rate trolls by the number of hits, yukon will be at the top of the drone bombing list. Big Sis sez, If you see a troll, say something!
Obama's watch stopped on 24 May 2008, but he's been too busy smoking crack to notice.
It's from dotty old England. They have a totalitarian streak. People should be careful though as British laws can reach overseas. I think this will only apply to people who identify themselves by name. It won't apply to anonymous handles except in rare instance (like a famous but anonymous blogger which is a case of a pen name). The day they start doing this in the States, I'll stop posting altogether.
Isn't Facebook hosted here? Facebook, which did not contest the order, will now reveal the IP addresses of people who had abused her so she can prosecute them.
"If men through fear, fraud or mistake, should in terms renounce and give up any essential natural right, the eternal law of reason and the great end of society, would absolutely vacate such renunciation; the right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty, it is not in the power of Man to alienate this gift, and voluntarily become a slave." Samuel Adams, Rights of the Colonists, 1772
How is this possible? It isn't.
Global. So by operating in England, they are subject. However, English libel laws have very long arms. If some British citizen came here to LF and registered and identified themselves by name/location and then someone started trashing them or libeling them, then even an otherwise anonymous American forum might be legally compelled by British courts via reciprocity to reveal the IP address of the posters and they could then be dragged into British courts. This has happened repeatedly to American writers, getting sued in Britain. It has given rise to libel tourism.
In America, libel has to be false information and it must have demonstrable malicious intent. In England & Wales, even if it is true, you're guilty if it is even considered derogatory and has been published anywhere in the world. I know, it sounds crazy to us. But this is Nazi England we're talking about. So if you libel a Brit here and they are after you, any vacation in England is a real bad idea. And better sell that property you own in any British jurisdiction.
I wish that LP server was located in Britain. Damned the luck!
I actually know a guy. He met a girl on facebook. She lives in Britain. He is planning on moving there and never coming back. His name is Ted. Sounds wacked to me.
Members of the forum are assigned a status, and normally it's "full". There is one status though that is "higher" than full, and it's called "Trusted". No IP information is recorded on Trusted members, and setting a member to "Trusted" will purge (irrevokably) all past IP information on that user. IP addrs are still in the apache (web server software) logs which can usually be traced to particular posts, but that's rotated out of existance after about a month or two.
Did they ever pass laws to force forums and places like Blogspot to retain their IP logs or is that only for ISPs and email service? Probably a moot point by now. Their intent with the two big new data centers for NSA is to capture/record everything that passes through the internet and retain it. Should be good for Seagate stock though.
Probably a moot point by now. Their intent with the two big new data centers for NSA is to capture/record everything that passes through the internet and retain it. Should be good for Seagate stock though. I've no idea, but I think any gov would have a hard time claiming jurisdiction to force a private programmer that made a privately developed software package without pay comply with any kind of restriction related to it. It's gotta be a 13th (no involuntary servitude) and 1st Amendment (free speech) issue. Sure they'll say that only applies in the 18th and 19th century, but.... For that exact reason, I think everything on the internet should be encypted. All web sites, all emails, all voip, everything.
I agree but then we'd have to spend even more on NSA and other snoops for the parallel architectures needed to crack the codes. Given that relatively few programs use the multicore CPUs, I've wondered if the reason Intel started down the multicore path in a big way with the ability to deliver CPU chips with 70 or more cores is because they have contracts with NSA. How many people other than animators using raytracing for Hollywood special effects have any use for multicore machines? But I think NSA could find uses for them. Crypto scales well in parallel architectures.
Why didn't she keep her page closed to those she doesn't know? I can't figure out why people expose themselves to millions of others and then feel slighted when they are attacked.
I didn't know Teddy was into girls with big calves, thought he was into girls with big uhhh......... :) He's in for a culture shock if he goes there.....
Political Bumper Stickers: The fastest way in the world to let people know you are a total dumbass.... Total number of Obama 2012 bumper stickers I've seen so far......5!! Total number of Romney 2012 bumper stickers I've seen so far...0!!
In England & Wales, even if it is true, you're guilty if it is even considered derogatory and has been published anywhere in the world. Doesn't the harm to the person need to be proven here as well?
That's the point. In England/Wales, you're guilty even if it is true but it is considered derogatory. IOW, truth is no defense. Also, here in the States, celebrities and pols get little protection as public persons. Much harder for them to pursue cases. Usually, they end up spending tons of money (millions in some cases) and it goes nowhere. Unless they are rich enough they are just trying to break a libeler/slanderer through legal fees.
#2. To: We The People (#0)
#3. To: harrowup (#2)
#4. To: buckeroo, *Yukon neo-Progressive Vermin* (#1)
"We (government) need to do a lot less, a lot sooner" ~Ron Paul
#5. To: buckeroo, We The People (#1)
#6. To: TooConservative (#5)
(Edited)
#7. To: We The People (#6)
Facebook, which did not contest the order, will now reveal the IP addresses of people who had abused her so she can prosecute them.
#8. To: We The People (#6)
The Free Speech Protection Act of 2008 and 2009 were both bills aimed at addressing libel tourism by barring U.S. courts from enforcing libel judgments issued in foreign courts against U.S. residents, if the speech would not be libelous under American law. These protections were passed in the 2010 SPEECH Act which passed unanimously in both the House of Representatives and the Senate before being signed by US President Barack Obama on August 10, 2010.
#9. To: buckeroo (#7)
How is this possible? It isn't.
#10. To: TooConservative (#9)
#11. To: We The People, cz82 (#0)
#12. To: TooConservative, pinguinite (#8)
I asked Neil years ago. He probably don't remember. But it would be kind of kool to have a purge feature where I could purge everyones IP every once in a while. Maybe with a function to save some of them if that was important for some reason. Or maybe they could self delete periodically. Say every six months or so.
#13. To: A K A Stone (#12)
I asked Neil years ago. He probably don't remember. But it would be kind of kool to have a purge feature where I could purge everyones IP every once in a while. Maybe with a function to save some of them if that was important for some reason. Or maybe they could self delete periodically. Say every six months or so.
#14. To: Pinguinite (#13)
#15. To: TooConservative (#14)
Did they ever pass laws to force forums and places like Blogspot to retain their IP logs or is that only for ISPs and email service?
Probably a moot point by now. Their intent with the two big new data centers for NSA is to capture/record everything that passes through the internet and retain it.
#16. To: Pinguinite (#15)
For that exact reason, I think everything on the internet should be encypted. All web sites, all emails, all voip, everything.
#17. To: We The People (#0)
#18. To: A K A Stone (#11)
She lives in Britain. He is planning on moving there and never coming back. His name is Ted.
#19. To: TooConservative (#9)
In America, libel has to be false information and it must have demonstrable malicious intent.
#20. To: Serenissima Venezia (#19)
Doesn't the harm to the person need to be proven here as well?
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