The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #36423   Message #506007
Posted By: GUEST,Fed up
13-Jul-01 - 04:29 PM
Thread Name: Posting anonymously
Subject: RE: Posting anonymously
Jeri,

Try something a bit more recent, like McInyre V. Ohio. 1995 US Supreme Court decision reaffirming the First Amendment right of anonymous communication.

Although, if you like the idea of going back to a Founding Fathers thing, you could also try the Federalist Papers--written anonymously with psuedonyms.

Historians are still arguing over *their* identities. Doesn't change a word they said, though. Wise guys, actually. Without a known identity, their ideas can't be so readily dissmissed with remarks like "well what did you expect from Alexander Hamilton, he is just a federalist pig."

Also, a tidbit from the Electronic Frontier Foundation:

"FBI Dir., Louis Freeh, and president of Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Ernest Allen, testifying before the Commerce, Justice and State Dept. Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, at a hearing on FBI efforts to catch child pornographers and molestors who use the Internet. Freeh reveals that FBI agents are paid to pretend to be 13-year-old girls in online chat rooms, and attacks online anonymity and privacy, saying that while the FBI should be able to hide its agents' identities while they pretend to be naughty pubescents, the rest of the world should be identifiable to law enforcement agents automatically. Freeh suggests mandating (or possibly allowing for voluntary implementation of) Internet Service Providers call-tracking all of their users, including with Caller-ID and permanent logging, so that police can immediately ID a suspect. Nevermind warrants or anything like due process. Yet another attempt by the FBI to wrangle new surveillance powers over the new medium. (Mar. 10, 1998)"

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