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And also gave advice on how to remain anonymous, and put in place no AML or KYC processes.

EGreg 3y ago
Oh, the nerve of developing a piece of software, and advising people on how to not put in place processes! I thought the default state of transactions was not putting in place processes. How exactly do we square this with freedom of speech? When Phil Zimmerman published the book with the PGP source code, Could they have simply arrested him for exporting munitions despite the first amendment? That is a serious question, how come he was able to get away?
- JohnFen 3y ago
  > How exactly do we square this with freedom of speech Freedom of speech in the US is not, and never has been, absolute. There is all sorts of speech that is illegal to engage in. > That is a serious question, how come he was able to get away? He was absolutely investigated for ITAR violations, but the government elected not to press charges in the end. I forget why they made that decision, but I think it was a combination of the book being published only in the US at the time (which was undeniably legal) plus the huge amount of pressure -- especially public ridicule -- from the hacker community about the ridiculousness of the ITAR regulations.
- MattPalmer1086 3y ago
  They didn't just develop software and give advice. They ran the service itself. If they had just written some software and told people how to operate it anonymously, they could not be prosecuted under these laws.
zoklet-enjoyer 3y ago
Might as well ban cash transactions and any services that facilitate cash transactions.
- JohnFen 3y ago
  There have been laws requiring reporting cash transactions above a certain amount for a very, very long time. Engaging in such transactions without doing the proper reporting is already banned.
- arp242 3y ago
  Yes, many jurisdictions have limits and rules for large cash transactions, and have for many years. Suddenly showing up with $1 million in cash that can't be traced to anything is more than a little suspicious, wouldn't you say? To what degree these laws should exist is something you can have an opinion on, but fact is that crypto is not being singled out here as is being implied.
- HDThoreaun 3y ago
  The vast majority of cash is used for its intended legal purpose. The vast majority of tornado transactions were likely used to launder money.

Oh, the nerve of developing a piece of software, and advising people on how to not put in place processes! I thought the default state of transactions was not putting in place processes. How exactly do we square this with freedom of speech? When Phil Zimmerman published the book with the PGP source code, Could they have simply arrested him for exporting munitions despite the first amendment? That is a serious question, how come he was able to get away?

JohnFen 3y ago
> How exactly do we square this with freedom of speech Freedom of speech in the US is not, and never has been, absolute. There is all sorts of speech that is illegal to engage in. > That is a serious question, how come he was able to get away? He was absolutely investigated for ITAR violations, but the government elected not to press charges in the end. I forget why they made that decision, but I think it was a combination of the book being published only in the US at the time (which was undeniably legal) plus the huge amount of pressure -- especially public ridicule -- from the hacker community about the ridiculousness of the ITAR regulations.
MattPalmer1086 3y ago
They didn't just develop software and give advice. They ran the service itself. If they had just written some software and told people how to operate it anonymously, they could not be prosecuted under these laws.

zoklet-enjoyer 3y ago

Might as well ban cash transactions and any services that facilitate cash transactions.

JohnFen 3y ago
There have been laws requiring reporting cash transactions above a certain amount for a very, very long time. Engaging in such transactions without doing the proper reporting is already banned.
arp242 3y ago
Yes, many jurisdictions have limits and rules for large cash transactions, and have for many years. Suddenly showing up with $1 million in cash that can't be traced to anything is more than a little suspicious, wouldn't you say? To what degree these laws should exist is something you can have an opinion on, but fact is that crypto is not being singled out here as is being implied.
HDThoreaun 3y ago
The vast majority of cash is used for its intended legal purpose. The vast majority of tornado transactions were likely used to launder money.