In the news today, "people who create fake online profiles with the intent to harass, humiliate, or "troll" others could soon face criminal charges, according to new U.K. guidelines."
About time, is what I think. Attacking someone from behind an anonymous mask is not only cowardly, but lacks honesty. And it always surprises me how much the online crowd just sucks it up or joins in without any critical evaluation of the anonymity.
This in the news, too: "Offenders can mistakenly think that by using false online profiles and creating websites under a false name their offences are untraceable. Thankfully this is not the case and an online footprint will be left by the offender."
"The new rule also extends to Internet users who open an account under the name of the victim and share information in such a way that it appears as though the victim has themselves made the statements."
I am not against freedom of speech, but using the internet in this anonymous way is not an exercise of freedom. If a person wants to publicly say something critical, then they should at least be called on to put their name to it. Anything less is a licence to bully and we don't allow that in our playgrounds so why promote it in adult life?
