4 ms·

AUS proposed anti-troll law would require platforms to disclose personal details

• jfengel 5y ago
  "it was not clear how a requirement to provide personal details to open an account would reduce online abuse as many people already make cruel comments under their real names" Yeah, that's the thing. You don't need anonymity. All you need is the distance created by the Internet. What's needed, in my opinion, is less about unmasking, and more about using existing laws. Police don't take threats seriously, much less mere defamation. There are things that clearly cross a legal line, but can't be prosecuted or brought into court because it's too much work. Anonymity doesn't help the situation, since one of the reasons they never pursue threats is that it's hard to prove that somebody actually said the thing. It was hacked, it's a fake account, etc. The bar is high, deliberately, but that puts a heavy burden on those who are the target of trolls. Don't dismiss it; just because most death threats are vacuous doesn't make them irrelevant, and just because it's hard to prove damage from defamation doesn't mean it's zero. I dislike the notion that the laws as they are are somehow perfect and therefore anything not currently prosecutable is your own problem. Laws can shift the burdens around, and while imperfect, the current situation isn't perfect, either. Even merely "different" can have benefits.