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The first amendment makes no distinction between someone who says "Hey your shitty website is broken. And I'm telling everybody." and someone who sends a privat
by olefoo 14y ago
The first amendment makes no distinction between someone who says "Hey your shitty website is broken. And I'm telling everybody." and someone who sends a private email, hat in hand, saying; "Excuse me kind sirs, but I can't help but notice that your security procedures are somewhat lacking."
And oddly, if one of those is a crime, so is the other.
- chc 14y agoDoes the First Amendment make a distinction between a person in a crowded room shouting "I love U2" and the same person shouting "Fire"? I'm going to go ahead and suggest that the answer is "No, but we as a society make a distinction." Same princple here. I believe the general principle is that you have freedom of speech, but you do not have indemnity from the harmful consequences of your speech.
- pessimizer 14y agoThe judge who said that the 1st amendment doesn't cover shouting fire in a crowded theater used it as an argument to jail people for handing out anti-war fliers. So it's not even appropriate for me to say that it's a slippery slope, because it started at the bottom.
- chc 14y agoAlthough the application is questionable, I think most people agree with the principle — you are free to speak your mind, but when your speech ventures into the realm of action, that action is not necessarily protected. For example, ordering a hit on someone is not protected even though it is technically just speech.