Despite the fact that phishing is already illegal, some senators felt that it needed to be made a little more illegal. A bill (PDF) introduced by three senators including, of "series of tubes" fame, Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens, seeks to outlaw phishing all over again, as well as make it illegal for people to mask or hide their private information if they own domain names.Specifically, if the bill passes, any domain that is used for any "commercial activity" must have the correct contact information available of the owner. So, technically, this could mean that even an anonymous blog running ads to pay for its servers, could potentially be at risk of breaking the law if they don't cough up the information.
Besides the fact that this is almost no different than trying to introduce a new bill that will fine people for speeding on the road, this bill appears to be a self-serving tool so that someone can say that they tried to crack down on phishing and Internet fraud and add that they have fought the good fight. Way to look out for the people.
Or maybe we're wrong, and doubling up legislation to make extra sure that it is illegal is a good idea - especially while stripping away more layers of privacy.
[via Techdirt]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-27-2008 @ 6:29PM
Bob Jones said...
Why not have a domain registry system like the UK & others where you MUST enter correct info BUT you have the option to hide it from the public, law enforcement can get the info.
Most importantly, since phishing is illegal why would they follow domain registry laws? Punishing the many legal netizens for the few.
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