> I think extortion should be defined as threatening to do something illegal unless paid. Intuitively, it seems like it should be! Compare these two threats fr

> I think extortion should be defined as threatening to do something illegal unless paid. Intuitively, it seems like it should be! Compare these two threats from a worker to the company owner, and consider what kind of definition of extortion would cover #1 while excluding #2: 1. "Pay me $1000, or I'll burn your house down." 2. "Pay me $1000, or I'll quit and go work for your competitor." Obviously extortion can't be defined as "threatening to do something the other person won't like," otherwise they both would qualify. If you define it as "threatening to do something illegal" then it seems to fit better. This kind of thinking makes sense to me, but this is why nerds like me make bad lawyers -- it turns out to be wrong. Threatening to "reveal information about a victim or their family members that is potentially embarrassing or socially damaging" [1] is enough, even though actually revealing that information is perfectly legal. Seems counter-intuitive, but there you go! [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extortion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extortion