3 ms·
Ultimately, do you think more harm or good has been done by revealing these search histories under court order? Good: some criminals have presumably been convi
by hugh3 16y ago
Ultimately, do you think more harm or good has been done by revealing these search histories under court order?
Good: some criminals have presumably been convicted, some innocent people have probably been exonerated. Some crimes have probably been prevented.
Harm: jaded FBI agents have got an occasional giggle from looking through the search history of folks under suspicion.
- oconnore 16y agoYou left out: some innocents may be convicted for unpopular but innocent searches, some guilty may be exonerated for being smart enough to search at the library instead of at home, some of those FBI agents may hold onto that information long after it is relevant to use in personal attacks or blackmail, etc, etc, etc.
- hugh3 16y agoOK, add those possibilities to the ledger. Do they push us from "overall good" into "overall harm" territory?
- oconnore 16y agoI don't think you can frame civil rights issues as strict utilitarian propositions. Or, if it is possible, it requires a more in depth analysis than you are giving it. For example, restrictions on freedom of press are usually for the greater good, in the short term. 99 times out of 100, the people you are defending with civil rights issues are total crackpots. But 1/100 times, maybe they are Thomas Jefferson writing the declaration of independence. The rare case is so critical that it is worth our time to waste our time with the remaining 99.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]