USTR To Canada: 'Bow Down And Accept ACTA!' Canada: 'Yes, We Shall Do Your Bidding'

Illinois Bill To Outlaw Online Anonymity Dropped Because People Got Pissed Off, Not Because It's Unconstitutional

from the that's-one-way-to-do-lawmaking dept

Fri, Mar 1st 2013 3:07pm — Mike Masnick

We recently wrote about Illinois state senator Ira Silverstein and his bizarre decision to push an obviously unconstitutional bill that would effectively ban anonymous speech online. Basically, any site that accepted comments or user content, would be required to get the real names and addresses of anyone who comments, or agree to pull any anonymous content. As we noted at the time, the bill appeared to be an almost exact replica of a NY state bill that was widely mocked online for being unconstitutional.

Silverstein has now pulled the bill, admitting that "the heat" the bill generated was too much, so he dropped it. But what's truly incredible is his apparent inability to understand why people were so upset. He doesn't seem particularly apologetic about it, though he does admit that he copied the NY bill, which he discovered while surfing the internet:

"I do a lot of reading, a lot of research, over break," he said. "And I came across this idea that had been suggested in New York (state) as a way to combat cyberbullying. Kids can be very mean on the Internet, and I thought this might be a way of controlling that."

So it's another "save the children!" excuse, without, apparently, even attempting to think through the consequences (or constitutionality) of what he was proposing. For all the "reading" and "research" he did over break, you'd think he would have come across the complete tear downs of that same NY bill and why it was unconstitutional. I'm glad the bill was pulled, but it would be nicer if there was some flicker of recognition from Silverstein as to why the bill was so problematic in the first place.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: anonymity, free speech, illinois, ira silverstein

18 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Atkray (profile), 1 Mar 2013 @ 3:15pm

"I do a lot of reading, a lot of research, over break," he said. "And I came across this idea that had been suggested in New York (state) as a way to combat cyberbullying. Kids can be very mean on the Internet, and I thought this might be a way of controlling that."

�Am I going mad or did the word think escape your lips?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Mar 2013 @ 3:15pm

Phew, I'm safe, for now.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
sophisticatedjanedoe (profile), 1 Mar 2013 @ 3:23pm

I do a lot of reading, a lot of research, over break," he said.

I wonder what is his definition of "lot": US Constitution is only 6 pages, including the Bill of Rights, and he definitively couldn't master such volume.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
New Mexico Mark, 1 Mar 2013 @ 3:46pm

Re:
Nope... "thought" escaped his lips. Vizzini, I have a premonition that your upcoming battle of wits -- to the death -- may go poorly. :)
[ link to this | view in thread ]
missing part of geddy that goes around him like ne, 1 Mar 2013 @ 3:53pm

Just ban people from going on the Internet altogether politicians. Lock it down. "BURN IT!"
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Mar 2013 @ 3:57pm

Ira Silverstein. The name says it all.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Mar 2013 @ 4:10pm

Re:
http://www.fakenamegenerator.com/

Just in case you need it, I will leave this here.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Mar 2013 @ 4:15pm

Re:
???

Is there any particular funny reason?

Is he staining silver?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
special-interesting (profile), 1 Mar 2013 @ 4:21pm

Obviously Senator Ira Silverstein is another victim of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA).

Here is a decent (and typical,there are many) article on the misguided emphasis on how the NCLBA measures only Reading Writing and Math ignoring Science and History. http://www.nea.org/home/39774.htm In local newspapers its common that teachers cry of history being passed over in place of NCLBA test score remedial classes. Thats right, special classes just to game the NCLBA test scores. Gym class? Ha! Why would gym be more important than Science and History?

Why was his first solution be to restrict the rights of citizens anyway. If he reads a lot ya think he would start with the first and fourth amendments. I wish someone would copyright the NY bill so it would vanish down the drain of eternal copyright (which actually might do some minuscule good in this case). But that would be historically bad because we need to learn from such nonsense.

For the children... he would forge chains of bondage with his limited mindset. In fact just because he mentioned the word �children� makes me shiver anticipating future tainted legislation.

It is impossible to understate the value of anonymity in all dealings with the net so much so I question his reading list. He did not read 1984 did he? And if he did... how many brain cells are actually plugged in and powered up in his head anyway.

Heres my post on the political circus playing out daily in IL (its actually not very long); http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130219/10065822029/illinois-politician-seeks-to-outlaw-anonymous- comments-allow-anonymous-gun-ownership.shtml#c631 Want to be an IL politician? Its aaaall in the name.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Chronno S. Trigger (profile), 1 Mar 2013 @ 5:32pm

For the children!
"And I came across this idea that had been suggested in New York (state) as a way to combat cyberbullying. Kids can be very mean on the Internet, and I thought this might be a way of controlling that."

Yep, let's protect the children and only the children. You just turned 18? Well f**k you, we don't give two shits about you now.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Mar 2013 @ 5:40pm

Re:
aka, no child left a dime
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Mar 2013 @ 6:45pm

Re: Re:
More like "no child outside a prison".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School-to-prison_pipeline
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K ids_for_cash_scandal
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 1 Mar 2013 @ 6:45pm

Re:
The kind of legislator who would introduce an obviously unconstitutional bill is the kind who isn't going to care about that sort of thing later.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 2 Mar 2013 @ 1:19am

"And I came across this idea that had been suggested

And I came across this historical method of dealing with politicians, involving cellars and gunpowder.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Lurker Keith, 2 Mar 2013 @ 6:25am

reading comprehension
Either his reading list was abysmally short or his reading comprehension is abysmal.

If you're doing research, how do you miss all the info about it being Unconstitutional? & how does a politician not consider the Constitution before crafting a Bill?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 3 Mar 2013 @ 10:27am

Gag on the Morality
I�m going to guess that senator Silverstein thinks this bill was the �good idea�.
NY State Senators Say We've Got Too Much Free Speech; Introduce Bill To Fix That

Why do the elected in the State�s of IL and NY think we have too much Free Speech?

Between arrests for public video taping/picture taking and the people�s representatives that favor muzzling, I certainly hope this is NOT the �progression� that the organizations they represent favor over Liberty.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
spodula (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 1:43am

The US constitution
Over in the US, you have a wonderful document, remarkibly clear of legalese that made waves when it was orignially written, and is still an inspiration to people all over the world now.

I Wish my own country (The UK) had such a clear and concise document as opposed to an "Unwritten constitution" which appears to mean "Whatever the ruling class feel like at the time"

So, i'm wondering.
Is the US Constitution not studied in US schools?
This doesnt even seem to pass the laugh test.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Ninja (profile), 4 Mar 2013 @ 2:19am

It is sad to see so many attacks and blatant disrespect towards the US Constitution. Still there's a lesson to be learned here: public outrage and mobilization will be effective into stopping the madness. People must stay vigilant!
[ link to this | view in thread ]