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The problem is that the right of anonymous speech is a relatively new creation by the Supreme Court (the Supreme Court ruling everyone cites is McIntyre v. Ohio
by akiselev 10y ago
The problem is that the right of anonymous speech is a relatively new creation by the Supreme Court (the Supreme Court ruling everyone cites is McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission in 1995) and there isn't much precedent yet, especially when the case concerns a non-citizen or a port of entry. A more recent ruling in 2008 set some limits on the protection and established some tests for when someone can be legally deanonymized so already there is substantial creep against this protection.
Primarily, many rights are relaxed at the border (like search and seizure in Carol v United States) because the sovereign's interests and duties must be balanced with constitutional protections. If this case ever makes it to the Supreme Court i wouldn't be surprised if they rule that the government can require you to disclose all of your social media accounts if you're a non-citizen and any accounts where you do not have a reasonable expectation of anonymity if you are a citizen (I.e., they'd get your Facebook account and any account where you posted identifying details like a personal or work email but not your 4chan account).
- SomeStupidPoint 10y agoMy point wasn't about having to reveal social media accounts you've not taken effort to hide, nor about the rights of non-citizens or citizens at boarder crossings. It was responding to a specific point made by another poster, about rights citizens have when choosing to speak (particularly on political issues). Also, given that much of the revolutionary war propaganda and the federalist/anti-federalist papers were published under pseudonyms, Id argue anonymized political speech has been part of the American tradition since before there was a US government.
- akiselev 10y agoI understand, I simply wanted to add a little clarification on the right to anonymity and how it could apply in the case of the OP. I agree that anonymity has been a key part of the US political tradition since before the formation of the Union but it's important that it is codified into law and the judicial branch is allowed to review it.