Arizona Passes Sweeping Internet Censorship Bill

I can't believe this isn't out on ATS yet.

The state legislature of Arizona has passed a bill that vastly broadens telephone harassment laws and applies them to the Internet and other means of electronic communication.

The law, which is being pushed under the guise of an anti-bullying campaign, would mean that anything communicated or published online that was deemed to be “offensive” by the state, including editorials, illustrations, and even satire could be criminally punished.

InfoWars Article Link

I did a search on Google and found others with articles on this topic.

well with electronic bullying on the increase its a start but by the looks of it its a little bit too vague and will probably get a federal judge or 3 to slap it more into line and so lead the way for other states

Originally posted by Maxatoria
well with electronic bullying on the increase its a start but by the looks of it its a little bit too vague and will probably get a federal judge or 3 to slap it more into line and so lead the way for other states

I agree the law is a bit vague and slipping in wording for censorship as a whole should be slapped down. I would understand if the law was written to specific bullying while using vulgar / sexual terms but it's written for censorship as a whole and that to me is a no no for our 1st Amendment.

reply to post by KnightFire


just noticed its expanding on current laws to include new methods of communication like the internet so if all its doing is just bring it upto date then it shouldnt really break any parts of the 1st ammendment (assuming the laws in place are legit)

Originally posted by Maxatoria
reply to post by KnightFire

 

just noticed its expanding on current laws to include new methods of communication like the internet so if all its doing is just bring it upto date then it shouldnt really break any parts of the 1st ammendment (assuming the laws in place are legit)

Censorship of language simply due to personal opinion and claims of an 'offensive' nature are censorship at their worst.

The main point of freedom of speech is to protect speech you don't agree with or like.

If anything gets censored simply for opinion than this legislation is unconstitutional and should be eliminated asap.

reply to post by muzzleflash


but if someone said on twitter that they was going to bring their .357 to school and shoot the person dead since they didn't agree with what they said would that be acceptable?

Originally posted by Maxatoria
reply to post by muzzleflash

 

but if someone said on twitter that they was going to bring their .357 to school and shoot the person dead since they didn't agree with what they said would that be acceptable?

That would fall under existing laws such as "Making Terroristic Threats", or "Assault". I am sure there are several other existing laws we could use legitimately right now to nail someone saying things like that.

Originally posted by muzzleflash

Originally posted by Maxatoria
reply to post by muzzleflash

 

but if someone said on twitter that they was going to bring their .357 to school and shoot the person dead since they didn't agree with what they said would that be acceptable?

That would fall under existing laws such as "Making Terroristic Threats", or "Assault". I am sure there are several other existing laws we could use legitimately right now to nail someone saying things like that.

I agree, that type of life threatening terminology would fall under existing laws for inducing panic. That wouldn't be any different then telling that to someone's face and they go off and call the police.

The Secret Service handles cases like that everyday when someone openly threatens the president or any other member of the Executive Brand of Government.

Originally posted by KnightFire
I can't believe this isn't out on ATS yet.

The state legislature of Arizona has passed a bill that vastly broadens telephone harassment laws and applies them to the Internet and other means of electronic communication.

The law, which is being pushed under the guise of an anti-bullying campaign, would mean that anything communicated or published online that was deemed to be “offensive” by the state, including editorials, illustrations, and even satire could be criminally punished.

InfoWars Article Link

I did a search on Google and found others with articles on this topic.

This is fascist.

Originally posted by John_Rodger_Cornman

Originally posted by KnightFire
I can't believe this isn't out on ATS yet.

The state legislature of Arizona has passed a bill that vastly broadens telephone harassment laws and applies them to the Internet and other means of electronic communication.

The law, which is being pushed under the guise of an anti-bullying campaign, would mean that anything communicated or published online that was deemed to be “offensive” by the state, including editorials, illustrations, and even satire could be criminally punished.

InfoWars Article Link

I did a search on Google and found others with articles on this topic.

This is fascist.

I'm failing to see your point. Could you expand on your comment?

I'm surprised this law passed! but then again, Arizona has a history of stamping across the rights of its citizens. This law flagrantly disregards the first amendment and honestly is another insult on a growing list of travesties our government is trying to force down our throats.
Granted, Tennessee passed a similar amendment to an already existing law nearly a year ago that makes it illegal to post anything on the internet or through any electronic media that may "frighten, intimidate or cause emotional distress" to anyone who views it. While this amendment focused on images, the language of the amended law (regarding text and other content) was still left intact, making this disturbingly like the Arizona bill.
Say good bye to all your favorite comedy sites, they may be going down soon.

Originally posted by Azekual
I'm surprised this law passed! but then again, Arizona has a history of stamping across the rights of its citizens. This law flagrantly disregards the first amendment and honestly is another insult on a growing list of travesties our government is trying to force down our throats.
Granted, Tennessee passed a similar amendment to an already existing law nearly a year ago that makes it illegal to post anything on the internet or through any electronic media that may "frighten, intimidate or cause emotional distress" to anyone who views it. While this amendment focused on images, the language of the amended law (regarding text and other content) was still left intact, making this disturbingly like the Arizona bill.
Say good bye to all your favorite comedy sites, they may be going down soon.

I'm all for putting a stop to bullying, but not at the cost of our constitutional rights.

I find it funny that people try to control something like the internet. What happens when someone from another country bullies someone in the US? Nothing, so what is the difference? Leave alone something that needs to be left alone.

Here is a novel idea:
Let's stand up to bullies.

Cowering and begging the government to turn the world into a totalitarian Utopian playground is the absolute worst possible reaction to someone punching you for your lunch money.

So the bullies get to beat us up and trample upon our freedoms too? That's double impact.

Somehow it has become socially unacceptable to say "Let's mop the floor with these bullies" and now it's become a repetitive cycle of self-victimization and cowardice.

And to think just a century or two ago it was like the Wild West out here. And now it's become a pampered pajama party or something.

I admit I am deeply disappointed and disturbed. We allowed 'terrorism' and 'fear' control us...
Pathetic...

Just want to comment about the bullying before speaking on the law... uhm, are all our children now so maladjusted that that cannot handle any negativity? Have they only EVER gotten praise and their every desire? Really? They can't handle being mocked? How poorly have we raised our children that they're like this?

As for the law... AZ is becoming how the rest of America views hillbillies. Backwards and geared only towards WASP views.

Derek