March 14, 2006 Internet Backlash Stalls Jersey Civility Bill By K.C. Jones Courtesy of A New Jersey Assemblyman's Internet civility bill is on ice since opponents blasted it as an assault on free speech. Assemblyman Peter Biondi and his staff said they were trying to curb malicious exchanges on some local discussion boards when they introduced a bill requiring people to provide their real names and addresses before posting on public sites. The bill also stated that hosts could be sued for failing to disclose the identities of people disseminating false or defamatory information. Biondi's staff drafted the measure late last year. In was introduced in January. The bill hadn't even made it to committee before a small weekly newspaper published an article about it and Internet news providers began spreading the word. Then, callers from as far away as Canada deluged Biondi's office with complaints. "For a bill that's basically one of 45 just sitting there to be picked out – and for people in Portland, Oregon and Canadian broadcasters to be calling about it – it's a little bizarre," Biondi's Chief of Staff Scott Ross said during an interview. "For something that's not even on the radar screen in Trenton, it's incredible. It's definitely a first for us. It hit the Drudge Report and it was like 'Holy moly!" Ross said that Biondi and his staff were responding to requests from local constituents who complained about the viciousness of discussion boards littered with name-calling. They were shocked that the bill – drafted to bring decorum to Internet discussions – drew an intense response from Internet users far beyond the Garden State's boundaries. "We veered out of our comfort zone with this one," Ross said. "We're usually open space, quality-of-life kind of guys. We veered into technology and we were pretty much taken off guard when got hit with a couple hundred e-mails last week." and journalist Jeff Jarvis said he is proud to have started the forums that prompted Biondi to introduce the "stupidest legislation in memory." Critics said the law would be unconstitutional and impossible to enforce. Ross said he can see things from their perspective, but he still believes people should maintain civility online. "You could be talking to your neighbor and not even know it," he said. Biondi is anticipating a legal opinion from his state legislature's nonpartisan research division by the end of this week. E-mail This Story Print This Story Get the latest Messaging news, product info, and trends every week.			Six Apart To Sell Business-Friendly Blogging Tools Sony Ericsson Handsets To Feature Google Blogger, Search Quest For Compliance Stellent Adds Management Of Wikis, Blogs, And RSS Feeds Catch The Blog Buzz Microsoft Outlines Blog Policy     Messaging Pipeline's Main RSS Feed     Messaging Pipeline's Blog RSS Feed Editorial and vendor perspectives The Six Flavors Of Windows Vista Microsoft plans to release a full six-pack of Vista versions, one for every taste. Which Vista will be right for you? Hope is Not Enough When It Comes To Compliance Three Ways To Authenticate E-Mail And Stop Spam Wikis In The Workplace Review: Google Desktop 3 Vendors are now talking about how collaboration can be improved by integrating video with messaging applications. They're even talking about adding live TV to mobile phones. How far do you go before it becomes a bandwidth and business productivity drain? Video is a great idea     13% Video is fine but there needs to be size limits     25% It's never used for anything really productive     38% I draw the line at live TV     25% In search of messaging products? Check out our brand new Product Finder for a directory of groupware and collaboration tools, security products, archiving solutions, and more.