Rights and Responsibility

    Internet forums enable people to post anonymous attacks against whomever they choose, with no worries about retaliation or punishment if the attack is libelous or leads to physical assault on the subject of the criticism. The writer of the virulent posting thus escapes responsibility for the threat and for any violence that it might provoke.
   Recently, sponsors of the forums have been blocking such blind attacks, leading to complaints that the posters' rights of free speech have been violated.
   But with freedom comes responsibility. The First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and of the press. It does not guarantee that libelous attacks and the spreading of lies cannot be prevented, and punished after the perpetrator is identified and convicted.
   Sadly, such falsehoods can be spread through other media, such as street-corner gossip or if a person pays a printer to produce them so that person can personally distribute them. In that case, the gossip mongers must pay for printing and distribution themselves, which can easily be very expensive and limited as to how widespread it can be distributed.
   Internet providers are under no obligation to assist in such attacks, especially those that are malicious and false.
   The falsifiers retain their First Amendment rights, but they must pay for printing and distribution. And if they commit libel, they can be punished.