 yazdzikPremium,MVM join:2000-07-26 Honesdale, PA kudos:1 | said by enkid: Would the use of email in organizing a boycott of a telecommunications provider (perhaps the one which provided the email service) constitute "intent to harm" under these laws?
Yes. Therein lies the danger. While it may not be the intention of the law, it is indeed so constructed. That is why words like "intent" need to be formulated clearly in the penal code - if the purpose of communication is to harm the telcos, and I, personally, would do anything in my power to harm them, short of violate statute, it is illegal in Michigan to do so via the internet, or a protocol involving the use of an IP address. Apparently, the Michigan legislature thinks that Bignet deserves to die because it is not Ma Bell, and, frankly, had the states and the federal government adhered to statute in the first place, Covad would never have landed in court, and few of us would still be using landline phones attached to ex-ATT copper.
Never underestimate the power of corruption.
An e-mail demanding a telco boycott in Michigan is now a felony.
-M |