Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

>I'm reading this charitably as you saying that laws that criminalise distribution regardless of intent or knowledge need to be changed to recognise that with the internet people can effectively commit crimes without knowledge or intent. This is particularly relevant where distribution of material (child porn, terrorist material) is criminalised.

No I am making the very simple case that a number is a number and you can't make a number illegal.

All digital information is numbers and banning any of the 4 horsemen of the infocalypse at mere possession will ensure we retard most useful technologies.

The only time that flesh space laws should apply is when flesh space actions are taken.

An example: terrorist training material is sent on how to build a bomb. Until a bomb is built, or a conspiracy to build a bomb is made, nothing illegal should have happened.



Wouldn't that make cyberbullying and slander even in its most extreme forms legal? In those cases often someone is being harmed (with real, flesh space consequences), despite the material being nothing more then numbers.


Slander and cyberbullying are civil law, not criminal law.


But it's just digital information, as you mentioned. It never enters flesh space as real.


Civil law is again very different to criminal law.

You can obviously have a contract between two people for sending digital information between them.

That this only happens in digital space does not mean the contract can't or shouldn't be enforced.


All writing is just splinters of carbon or drops of ink.

How can an element or a wster-based solution be illegal?


Are you attacking freedom of writing now? I am confused.

This is one thing that most of the free world has gotten mostly right: you can say anything you want in writing without having to fear the government.

It needs some corner cases ironed out, obviously, but for the most part you can write whatever you want and not be arrested for it.


You're confused. There's no reason to debate with you. Goodbye.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: