Re:Stupid Legal Threats: You Can't Write About Me Because of...
by anigbrowl on Wednesday April 24, 2013 @06:30PM
(#5604414)
By contrast if my right to free speech could be shut down just because Bill Gates does not like that particular picture
You have a right to free speech, but I'd argue that bill Gates ought to have a right to privacy that would prevent the police from releasing his mugshot in the first place.
To take a more serious example, I have Showdead enabled on HN so I see all the posts on the new page that are auto-flagged. The other day I saw one from a site I didn't recognize relating to photographs of the Boston bombing suspects (this was before the second one had been caught). It had been flagged but I was curious about the ongoing story so I went to the URL. well, it turned out to be the morgue photo of the older brother, on a blog that specializes in, well, morgue photos. I've worked in a hospital including a stint in a mortuary so I'm not mentally scarred by seeing a dead body, even a badly damaged one, but I do question to what extent freedom of speech should allow commercial exploitation of this sort.
There is no such mugshot of me, but I would not think it a big deal if there was.
Sure, because in Bill Gates' mugshot, you can tell he's not terribly worried about how this is going to affect his life, and I wouldn't be either for some kinds of offenses. But suppose you were unfortunate enough to be an alcoholic or got caught up in some sticky situation. If you were falsely accused of a sex crime or something your professional life might suddenly come to a crashing halt.
You have a right to free speech, but I'd argue that bill Gates ought to have a right to privacy that would prevent the police from releasing his mugshot in the first place.
To take a more serious example, I have Showdead enabled on HN so I see all the posts on the new page that are auto-flagged. The other day I saw one from a site I didn't recognize relating to photographs of the Boston bombing suspects (this was before the second one had been caught). It had been flagged but I was curious about the ongoing story so I went to the URL. well, it turned out to be the morgue photo of the older brother, on a blog that specializes in, well, morgue photos. I've worked in a hospital including a stint in a mortuary so I'm not mentally scarred by seeing a dead body, even a badly damaged one, but I do question to what extent freedom of speech should allow commercial exploitation of this sort.
There is no such mugshot of me, but I would not think it a big deal if there was.
Sure, because in Bill Gates' mugshot, you can tell he's not terribly worried about how this is going to affect his life, and I wouldn't be either for some kinds of offenses. But suppose you were unfortunate enough to be an alcoholic or got caught up in some sticky situation. If you were falsely accused of a sex crime or something your professional life might suddenly come to a crashing halt.