Colleges Embrace Online Anonymous 'Snitching' to Fight Sexual Violence

Article here. Excerpt:

'Now, states like Minnesota and Connecticut have enacted laws requiring their colleges to implement websites where students can make anonymous complaints about sexual assault and harassment. An investigation is only launched when an official report is filed.

Some say these laws and other attempts to allow anonymous "snitching" go too far, opening the door to false accusations and recriminations.

"It's Orwellian," said John F. Banzhaf, III, professor of public interest law at George Washington University Law School. "They don't even have to tell you a complaint was filed."

The person reported may never have a chance to defend himself, he said, jeopardizing a student or faculty member's reputation and career. Banzhaf says he was falsely accused of harassment under an anonymous hotline reporting system that was set up at GWU in 2002.

"I found out when I was vacationing and got a long-distance call saying I had to get right back," he told NBC News. "I was informed a high official received a complaint about me."'