HOUSE PANEL OKS IDENTITY-THEFT BILL.Byline: Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - Registering an Internet domain name An organization's unique name on the Internet. The chosen name combined with a top level domain (TLD), such as .com or .org, also called a "domain extension," makes up the Internet domain name. For example, computerlanguage.com is the domain name for the publisher of this Encyclopedia. under a false identity while committing a copyright felony could bring an additional seven-year prison sentence under legislation passed Wednesday by the House Judiciary Committee Judiciary Committee may refer to:
The panel also approved two bills co-sponsored by Rep. Adam Schiff
Adam B. Schiff (born June 20 1960) is an American politician. He first served in the California State Senate. , D-Pasadena. One cracks down on identity theft, and the other creates criminal and civil penalties for falsely reporting a chemical, biological or nuclear threat. The Fraudulent Online Identity Sanctions Act, sponsored by Reps. Howard Berman, D-Van Nuys, and Lamar Smith, R-Texas, is aimed at nabbing copyright infringers. The bill is supported by the Motion Picture Association of America. It increases to seven years the prison time for anyone who provides false or misleading contact information to a domain registrar, and then uses that online location to infringe on a trademark or copyright. Opponents, which include the Electronic Freedom Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), nonpartisan organization devoted to the preservation and extension of the basic rights set forth in the U.S. Constitution. , say the bill shackles Internet users' right to privacy. The Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act, which Schiff introduced with Rep. John Carter, R-Texas, increases the sentences for identity-theft convictions by about two years. It also creates a separate crime of ``aggravated identity theft'' for anyone who uses another person's identity to commit certain felonies. The Senate passed similar legislation by Sen. Dianne Feinstein last year. The Anti-Hoax Terrorism Act, which Smith introduced and to which Schiff is one of several original co-sponsors, makes perpetrators of terrorism hoaxes subject to at least five years in prison in addition to liability in a civil action and liability for reimbursing any costs connected to the false alarm. The legislation came in response to false anthrax anthrax (ăn`thrăks), acute infectious disease of animals that can be secondarily transmitted to humans. It is caused by a bacterium (Bacillus anthracis alarms and other hoaxes after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Currently it is a felony to perpetrate per·pe·trate tr.v. per·pe·trat·ed, per·pe·trat·ing, per·pe·trates To be responsible for; commit: perpetrate a crime; perpetrate a practical joke. a hoax like falsely claiming there is a bomb on an airplane, and it also is a felony to communicate in interstate commerce interstate commerce In the U.S., any commercial transaction or traffic that crosses state boundaries or that involves more than one state. Government regulation of interstate commerce is founded on the commerce clause of the Constitution (Article I, section 8), which threatening harm to another. The law, however, does not address hoaxes related to biological, chemical or nuclear dangers. The bills now go to the House floor for consideration. Lisa Friedman, (202) 662-8731 lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com |
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