Cyberstalking gets NY Times Coverage

Here is a NY Times story about cyberstalking, a trend whereby one -- often anonymous -- person harasses another using the Internet. The article presents the harrowing story of Ms. Claire E. Miller, who was being harassed by having her name, telephone number, and address posted on various sex sites for reasons unknown by persons unknown. She had to remove her doorbell due to the number of strangers who arrived to be "serviced."

Laws banning cyberstalking and Internet harassment are have been enacted in many state legislatures, Seattle, WA being just one. In addition , according to the NY Times article, President Bush has recently signed Federal legislation to curb the problem. But given the inherent anonymity of Internet technology, can such laws be effective without significant change in underlying technology? And will anonymity have to be banned in order to police the Internet from criminal activity?

Given the real world damage vandals and harassers can do, often without legal consequences, change is brewing. We will see the end of anonymous Internet access within the decade. That such a policy would stifle political dissent only makes it more desirable from the perspective of government and law enforcement. The party's over. Some folks got much too drunk, made a terrible mess, and now we'll all have to pay. Hopefully, in the process, people like Ms. Miller will wind up safer as a result.