Comment Re:Setting limits on anonymity (Score 1) 182
The fact is that speed of transmission and ease of duplication do have bearing on how speech is regulated. The greater the potential impact of my words, and the more they can affect things for good or ill, the more responsibility I must bear -- why else have laws for libel and slander? And the impact I can have increases the faster I can spread the word and the larger my audience. At some point, anonymity cannot hold.
It's already a self-regulating system. The damages awarded in libel and slander cases is proportionate to the damge caused. If someone's words cause more damage because they were able to spread faster, then the reward to the victim would be greater as well.
There is no reason to loose anonymous speech just because the audience is larger.
It's already a self-regulating system. The damages awarded in libel and slander cases is proportionate to the damge caused. If someone's words cause more damage because they were able to spread faster, then the reward to the victim would be greater as well.
There is no reason to loose anonymous speech just because the audience is larger.
