-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 At 03:46 PM 9/22/97 +0000, Declan McCullagh wrote, regarding the right of people to say almost anything anywhere under any circumstance: This principle does not disappear when the
information being shared is digital.
To which I suggested that simple gossip is qualitatively different from posting confidential information about others to, say, a newsgroup or Web page. Thus:
That's a bold assertion, but not one that squares easily with the half-dozen or so privacy laws already on the books at the federal level.
(stuff snipped) Declan responded:
And yes, some of the "half-dozen or so privacy laws already on the books" are misguided. Just as many argue laws against drugs, gambling, or FCC rules prohibiting the broadcast of "indecent" material are also unconstitutional -- and a waste of our police's time.
I would like to go to those small-town folk of whom urban intellectuals write so eloquently and ask them what they would
That's a great response, but I still see little chance that this argument will go away on constitutional grounds. Until then, I'm reporting on what happens. It's shocking and intellectually indefensible, I know, but hey, my money's on reality.;-). think
of their neighbors posting all their gossip to a place where millions can read it. Something tells me they wouldn't see those two actions as one in the same. There is a qualitiative difference between the
two.
The problem is, I suspect, in drawing that line. Want to try your hand in drawing a line outlining the scope of "obscenity" laws? Remember they cover textual material in some states and comics in others. No? I didn't think so.
Actually, I'd be more than happy to "draw the line" if I did such things for a living - but I don't. In any case, I'd address the topic of privacy on its own without referring to hot button issues like obscenity. I invite everyone else to decide if the two issues are a fair parallel or not. I now invite Solveig, Julie and everyone else to comment. Me, I'm just betting on the horses.... Will -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGP for Personal Privacy 5.0 Charset: noconv iQA/AwUBNCb73tZgKT/Hvj9iEQLCiACghlPBpeIaUHheWN4Bp9JJXlEFp2IAoLB6 OVSFs2pSDjjRqidKHmy9uT6H =DRrn -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----