Electronic Impostor Act

Schwarzenegger to sign new bill

The Californian cyber imposter should be careful: even if you are not the perpetrator of the Electronic Impostor Act, you may soon be breaking the law. The bill, which still needs to be signed by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, will impose a fine of 1000 dollars and 1 years in prison for anyone who pretends to be malicious online. The law will take effect from January 1 next year, allowing the victim to bring a civil suit.

According to the lawyer, the bill has an impact on other people, in addition to its restrictions on criminals. The law is likely to be bound by jokes, humorous satirical writers and even social activists outside of California. The act of posing as celebrities and politicians is also included in the microblogging site Twitter and social networking Facebook.

Internet impostors residing outside of California may also be affected, said Eric Goldman, an associate professor at the University of Santa Clara Law School, in an interview, saying that "when people send information over the Internet, they are unlikely to consider whether to cross geographical boundaries." ”

"The legal provisions are very vague. "It may be difficult for the court to execute," said Simpson, a privacy lawyer, in an interview. "This law applies to any cyber imposter who is intended to harm, intimidate, threaten or defraud others." It is reported that the bill was drafted by the California Democratic Senator Joe Smithan.

The notorious Yes Men organization

Cyber-imposter law is rising across the United States-New York State and Texas have passed similar legislation that may bundle up with activists who use the "Identity correction" (correction) trick, who tend to impersonate an organization on the Internet or on the internet for some kind of political gain.

"The fake organizations are often unwilling, but helpless." "Once the bill is passed, those who are electronic may not be silenced," said Corynne hoping, a senior lawyer for the San Francisco Private Rights protection group, Frontier Foundation. By then, these social activists may be quiet. ”

In the case of Yes men, this is an organization composed of 300 people claiming to be Internet impostors. Last year, the group held a news conference as a member of the American Chamber of Commerce and used the American Chamber of Commerce logo to set up a website to lobby the American Chamber of Commerce to change its stance on environmental change legislation.

The US Chamber of Commerce filed a civil lawsuit against the federal court for the case, which is pending. This is the first lawsuit against the antics of the Yes men, said the co-founder of the American Chamber of Commerce, Jacques Servin, but the California law "not only protects us, but instead gives our prosecuting targets the ammunition to attack us". Yes men The organization has not been brought down by the indictment, and it has started providing advisory services to other social organizations to teach them how to operate "identity correction" activities.

Jobs that flooded the internet

In addition to the Yes Men organization, other humorist and comic-like jokes are also under the new law. On Twitter alone, there are about 200 registered accounts, claiming to be Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive. Many of them, either calling themselves "angry jobs" or claiming to be "Steve Jobs," offered or made sharp or witty comments about Apple's news and products.

On social networking Facebook, there are at least 9 registered accounts, risking the name of Bill Gates, Microsoft Group Chairman. Even Schwarzenegger, a policymaker in the cyber-imposter Act, has 10 Twitter accounts and 9 Facebook accounts registered with his name.

In Texas, the authorities have shut down a fake Twitter account, AUSTINPD, the fake Austin police. In New York State, the authorities are preparing to arrest a network imposter on Facebook, who has faked the state's "Cyber Imposter Act" as a draughtsman, state Senator Andrew J. Lanza. Lanza's friends and colleagues have added the impostor to "Buddy" on Facebook.

Facebook claims to prohibit Kana registration

Many internet companies, including Twitter and Facebook, should be asked to delete content that offends others. "Facebook has been insisting on a real-name registration system," says Simon Axton, a Facebook spokesman. "It's a violation of our company's policy to use a pseudonym or a fake identity, and you are welcome to oversee the reporting of impostors." ”

The California law was drafted by Carl Gutino, the chief executive of the Silicon Valley leadership group, which includes more than 300 technology companies such as Google, Microsoft and Apple. Earlier this year, a Californian journalist received a curse-filled e-mail message from the sender claiming to be a Gutino and turned out to be an imposter.

"I don't want to be a victim. "I don't want to suffer unwarranted bullying on the internet," Gutino said in an interview. But under the existing laws, the imposter is not breaking the law. ”