AFP reports:
South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Thursday effectively killed off a law which bans Internet users from using false IDs, ruling it a breach of freedom of expression.
Authorities in 2007 started enforcing the law aimed at curbing the country’s notorious cyber-bullying by preventing Internet users from hiding behind false IDs when they write postings on websites.
Eight judges in a unanimous decision ruled the law is unconstitutional.
“The legal phrases related to enforcing the use of real names restrict the freedom of expression guaranteed by the constitution and obstruct the formation of free opinions which form the basis of democracy,” it said.
Read more on MSN.
Not only is this a good ruling for freedom of expression, but the government discovered how bad a real-name strategy was in the wake of some very high profile hacks where millions of consumers had their real names and registration numbers (equivalent to our Social Security numbers) stolen.