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The idea that there is such a thing called "obscenity law" always struck me as profoundly backwards - the idea that someone can be so bothered by a piece of med
by Karunamon 11y ago
The idea that there is such a thing called "obscenity law" always struck me as profoundly backwards - the idea that someone can be so bothered by a piece of media they chose to willingly consume that they can take away the right of others to do the same.
This is one glaring inconsistency in the way courts have handled exclusions to freedom of speech. Normally, any abridgement requires a strict scrutiny test, and as far as I know, nobody has been able to articulate what, exactly, the legitimate and narrow government interest in regulating "obscenity" is.
AFAICT, it's a vestige of the puritan roots of the country.
- TeMPOraL 11y agoI think it's a codification of a quite natural and sometimes reasonable thing. Imagine I said something completely disgusting in a HN comment. I'd have it flagkilled faster than I could say "freedom of speech". We accept that because a community needs to be curated and maintained. Now extend this sentiment to the society at large, and you have an argument for some kind of obscenity laws. That those laws may have gone too far is another issue though.
- Lawtonfogle 11y agoWith hacker news you can leave and form your own community where that sentiment can be expressed. One just needs to visit a website belonging to some fringe group to see that. But with society's laws, you can't do that. Those communities, because they are now illegal, will be hunted down and destroyed. Instead of flag killing the opinion, imagine if the one who posted it could be banned from the internet.