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Cyber harassers: You can hide, but you can�t run

If you think using a false identity will allow you to slander or
harass people online, think again. Anonymity will not save you. 

By Dan Tynan  

September 16, 2011, 4:34 PM � You gotta love the InterWebs. You can
get away with saying practically anything about anybody-- and if you
hide behind a fake identity, nobody will ever be able to tell it�s
you. Right?

Well, no. You can�t just say slander or harass someone without
repercussions. If what you say or do would break a law in physical
space, it will also break laws in cyber space. And I don�t care how
anonymous you think you are, your identity is only a subpoena away.

William Lawrence Cassidy found this out the hard way after he posted
some 8,000 nasty, threatening, and disturbing tweets directed at one
woman: Alyce Zeoli, a Buddhist leader in Maryland.

Cassidy, who also went by a variety of aliases including Tulku Urgyan
Tenpa Rinpoche and Marshal Jim Duncan, probably thought he was being
clever by posting the tweets via fake names. He wasn�t. He's now
cooling his heels in a Maryland jail cell, awaiting trial for cyber
harassment. 

Per the New York Times:

� in response to a subpoena, [Twitter] revealed the Internet protocol
address of the computer used to post the messages. The authorities
found Mr. Cassidy at home in a small Southern California town called
Lucerne Valley. Similar rants were posted on blogs that law
enforcement authorities say they traced to him.

I had a tiny taste of something similar myself recently, after I made
a joke about the Tea Party in a blog post. I said that before I
friended anyone on Facebook I always make sure they�re not ax
murderers or Tea Party members. After this lone comment prompted a
handful of �news� stories on right-wing sites, I tweeted out a formal
apology � to ax murderers.

You�d think I�d bitch slapped Sarah Palin while strangling a puppy. I
cannot repeat here most of the nasty NSFW things these people said
about me in blog comments and on Twitter.

But the worst one was the pseudonymous a**clown who made a �joke� by
tweeting about my alleged fondness for kiddie porn. I informed him
that he was flirting with a defamation suit, but he didn�t care � he
seemed to think he was immune. 

I�m not sure what these people thought they�d achieve by this
campaign, but I think they proved my point about why I wouldn�t want
to friend them.

Some free speech advocates argue that Twitter is a public forum where
all voices should be heard. In Cassidy�s case, his alleged harassment
of Zeoli seems to go well beyond free speech and into threats against
her physical safety.  

In my case, well, I�m a big fan of the First Amendment � I use it
every day -- but I don�t think it gives you a license to slander or
knowingly spread falsehoods. And I�m not alone.

�There is a whole litany of things that are not protected by the First
Amendment, including illegal activity and copyright violations,� notes
Bennet Kelly, a Los Angeles attorney specializing in cyber law who�s
also an award-winning blogger for the Huffington Post.

Kelley often represents people who�ve been harassed or stalked online,
typically by people posting anonymously or via a fake identity.

�These people think they�re immune, that they can hide their identity
and get away with anything,� says Kelley. �But the victims usually
have a pretty good idea of who these people are, and if not, we can
investigate and find out.�

The simplest route: Take the account information and/or IP addresses
used by the harasser, and demand their real identity and contact info
from their service providers.

Once Kelley approaches the harassers, they usually take the offending
material down to avoid further legal consequences.

Unfortunately, cyber harassment doesn�t get the attention it deserves,
says Kelley. �People get all upset about cookies invading their
privacy,� he says. �When�s the last time someone committed suicide
over a cookie?�

TY4NS blogger Dan Tynan hasn�t sued anybody yet, but there�s still
time. Visit his snarky, occasionally NSFW blog eSarcasm or follow him
on Twitter: @tynan_on_tech. For the latest IT news, analysis and
how-to�s, follow ITworld on Twitter and Facebook.
ITworld Today Newsletter


So, there you have it. When you idiots cross the line there will
someone there on the other side of that line to make you accountable.

LV

-- 


"I rode a tank and held a general's rank
When the blitzkrieg raged and the bodies stank."

---Sympathy for the Devil-The Rolling Stones
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"Only a male compensating for his impotence 
would accuse a strong woman of being a lesbian."

---Unknown
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"It's a sign of your own worth sometimes if you are 
hated by the right people."

---Miles Franklin
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See the latest idiot featured on my blog!

My Blog  http://ladyveteranslog.blogspot.com  
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Are you being harassed on Usenet and want to fight 
back instead of leaving the net? Are you willing to 
stand up to Internet bullies and stalkers?

Join my group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/antiCHU  
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Remember that today's oak tree is yesterday's nut that
stood it's ground.

---Unknown
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