4 ms·

Of course there is free speech without proof of identity. The Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment protects anonymous speech. The right to speak ano

by krapp 2y ago

Of course there is free speech without proof of identity. The Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment protects anonymous speech. The right to speak anonymously is fundamental to the right to speak freely. You haven't proven the identity of "bdangubic" to us yet here you are exercising your right to free speech.

bdangubic 2y ago
what if I was an AI bot programmed under the direction of President Xi? :)
- krapp 2y ago
  What if you were? One has to assume most of the "people" with whom one interacts on the internet are bots or AIs now, anyway. That's just the nature of our post-truth reality, it doesn't matter. The point is that would have no bearing at all on whether or not you would have the right to free speech if you were a person who chose not to reveal your identity.
  - bdangubic 2y ago
    One has to assume most of the "people" with whom one interacts on the internet are bots or AIs now, anyway. That's just the nature of our post-truth reality, it doesn't matter. but “people” do not have right to free speech, PEOPLE do. if as you said most interactions on the internet are bots they are not covered by the bill of rights :) identity-proofing would take care of that…
    - krapp 2y ago
      It wouldn't take care of anything, it would just expose people who need anonymity to unnecessary danger.
      - bdangubic 2y ago
        if you trust social media companies (barf!) you can prove identity and request to stay anonymous. these are not mutually exclusive (of course IF at the beginning of this post is a big IF :) )
llamaimperative 2y ago
You're misreading the argument. They're not saying people do not have the freedom to speak anonymously, they're saying that computer programs, by virtue of not being a person, do not have freedom of speech under the Constitution. Obviously you can argue that you have First Amendment protections to write programs that then speak for you, which is essentially where the argument should happen. I think a very reasonable concession is: you can write programs that speak for you, so long as they do not masquerade as another person (real or fake). I.e.: you can write a program that speaks as you, or you can write a program that speaks as a program.

by krapp 2y ago

bdangubic 2y ago

what if I was an AI bot programmed under the direction of President Xi? :)

krapp 2y ago
What if you were? One has to assume most of the "people" with whom one interacts on the internet are bots or AIs now, anyway. That's just the nature of our post-truth reality, it doesn't matter. The point is that would have no bearing at all on whether or not you would have the right to free speech if you were a person who chose not to reveal your identity.
- bdangubic 2y ago
  One has to assume most of the "people" with whom one interacts on the internet are bots or AIs now, anyway. That's just the nature of our post-truth reality, it doesn't matter. but “people” do not have right to free speech, PEOPLE do. if as you said most interactions on the internet are bots they are not covered by the bill of rights :) identity-proofing would take care of that…
  - krapp 2y ago
    It wouldn't take care of anything, it would just expose people who need anonymity to unnecessary danger.
    - bdangubic 2y ago
      if you trust social media companies (barf!) you can prove identity and request to stay anonymous. these are not mutually exclusive (of course IF at the beginning of this post is a big IF :) )

llamaimperative 2y ago

You're misreading the argument. They're not saying people do not have the freedom to speak anonymously, they're saying that computer programs, by virtue of not being a person, do not have freedom of speech under the Constitution. Obviously you can argue that you have First Amendment protections to write programs that then speak for you, which is essentially where the argument should happen. I think a very reasonable concession is: you can write programs that speak for you, so long as they do not masquerade as another person (real or fake). I.e.: you can write a program that speaks as you, or you can write a program that speaks as a program.