Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Rick Falkvinge: Why free speech is harmed by the ban on child porn

falkvinge.net

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 332 posts

Re: Rick Falkvinge: Why free speech is harmed by the ban on child porn

#21

Post by olalonde »

ThePherocity wrote: post #15

I hope he gets hit by a truck today. I really do. There isn't, nor will there ever be an argument where the enablement of child molestation and rape is acceptable. And if there is collateral damage, then so be it. I'd rather 100 go to jail wrongfully accused than to enable 1 child to be rape. This guy make me sick. Seriously Rick, please kill yourself.

Please read the article before you comment. The author doesn't suggest at anytime that child molestation and rape are acceptable nor that they should be legalized.

Re: Rick Falkvinge: Why free speech is harmed by the ban on child porn

#22

Post by jrockway »

I also think you should be able to yell "Fire" in a crowed theater. Not being able to do so might cause someone observing a fire in a crowded theater to keep that information to himself rather than informing others, for fear of prosecution.

(I'm not even sure if I'm being sarcastic or not.)

Re: Rick Falkvinge: Why free speech is harmed by the ban on child porn

#23

Post by toddmorey »

I don't agree that the only way to address these edge cases is to entirely repeal the laws rather than reform them. Technology changes, society changes, and the law adjusts. Sure I can imagine myself as an activist working against imprisonment of consensual (but teenage) couples as he describes, but never for outright acceptance of all child porn content.

Re: Rick Falkvinge: Why free speech is harmed by the ban on child porn

#24

Post by sudonim »

When I lived in Houston and was buying a house I used a website to look up sex offenders in the neighborhood.

I remember seeing one guy who was in the sex offender database because when he was 19, he had sex with a 17 year old. It made me feel a little uncomfortable. It struck me because I was in my mid 20s and I think we were around the same age at the time.

Something is amiss in a system that punishes him for life and places him alongside men in their 40s convicted for touching toddlers.

Re: Rick Falkvinge: Why free speech is harmed by the ban on child porn

#25

Post by ThePherocity »

olalonde wrote: post #21
ThePherocity wrote: post #15

I hope he gets hit by a truck today. I really do. There isn't, nor will there ever be an argument where the enablement of child molestation and rape is acceptable. And if there is collateral damage, then so be it. I'd rather 100 go to jail wrongfully accused than to enable 1 child to be rape. This guy make me sick. Seriously Rick, please kill yourself.

Please read the article before you comment. The author doesn't suggest at anytime that child molestation and rape are acceptable nor that they should be legalized.

I read the article. The author intends to create an environment where a select few take a risk so many can gain access to the material.

Re: Rick Falkvinge: Why free speech is harmed by the ban on child porn

#26

Post by kmm »

[deleted] wrote: post #13

[deleted]

> On the other hand for child pornography there is always a victim. Some child, somewhere, had to go through an ordeal that will destroy and shape the rest of his/her life to produce that series of images or videos. Some child somewhere had to be damaged for the pleasure of people watching that video.

Absolutely not. Did you even read the article? Not everything that would be called child pornography in court is molestation of prepubescent children. One of the main points of the article is that it might be consensual sex between, say, two sixteen year olds. Or it could be kids putting it online themselves (remember Jessi Slaughter?).

Not to mention that you imply there's a causal link between people watching child pornography and people making more. That seems very far fetched. I doubt child molesters molest because they want more viewers on whatever site they're on, I'd think they take pleasure in molesting children.

Re: Rick Falkvinge: Why free speech is harmed by the ban on child porn

#27

Post by ThePherocity »

Falkvinge wrote: post #19
ThePherocity wrote: post #15

I hope he gets hit by a truck today. I really do. There isn't, nor will there ever be an argument where the enablement of child molestation and rape is acceptable. And if there is collateral damage, then so be it. I'd rather 100 go to jail wrongfully accused than to enable 1 child to be rape. This guy make me sick. Seriously Rick, please kill yourself.

Thank you for addressing me personally and wishing my premature death. However, I have no intention of obliging you in this particular matter. Cheers and enjoy the Sunday night, Rick

Okay, fine, I'm being an asshole.

Re: Rick Falkvinge: Why free speech is harmed by the ban on child porn

#28

Post by Falling3 »

billswift wrote: post #7
droob wrote: post #2

I find these edge cases extremely implausible, and counter to the way crimes are investigated and prosecuted. "Possessing cocaine is illegal but IMAGINE IF SOMEONE THREW A COCAINE BRICK AT YOU AND YOU CAUGHT IT!!!"

There have been cases where drugs were mailed to an address and the person receiving the package, not knowing what was in it, was arrested. That is one reason why no one who has any sense will accept a package they were not expecting.

Really? I think you're being a bit hyperbolic here as my chances of getting a surprise gift are far better than the odds of me getting set up with cocaine.

Re: Rick Falkvinge: Why free speech is harmed by the ban on child porn

#29

Post by mekwall »

ThePherocity wrote: post #15

I hope he gets hit by a truck today. I really do. There isn't, nor will there ever be an argument where the enablement of child molestation and rape is acceptable. And if there is collateral damage, then so be it. I'd rather 100 go to jail wrongfully accused than to enable 1 child to be rape. This guy make me sick. Seriously Rick, please kill yourself.

Read the article again. Child molestation and rape is obviously never acceptable (except to the most disturbed of minds), but the same should be said about putting innocents in jail. You lower yourself to the most abysmal level to wish Rick upon this fate.

Re: Rick Falkvinge: Why free speech is harmed by the ban on child porn

#30

Post by Monotoko »

There are also various countries who have different laws on this kind of thing. It reminds me of an album cover by the Scorpians back in 1976, the original cover is on the Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_Killer (great album btw) but it was banned in the USA.

In other words, anyone from the USA who clicks that wikipedia page may be committing a federal offence of possessing child porn on their computers (because media is downloaded into the cache from the site.) - crazy right?

Post reply on HN