This is as close to a real life 'snowcrash' as you could get and whoever did this (and the copycats) should be thrown the book at.
50K people die in the USA alone each year due to seizures, this is really no joking matter.
50K people die in the USA alone each year due to seizures, this is really no joking matter.
That's vastly different from, say, a heavy metal band inadvertently causing a seizure with their stage lights, or an animator inadvertently drawing a sequence that triggers photosensitive epilepsy.
By analogy, consider someone who deliberately drives their car at a bus stop and later brags on social media about trying to mow down pedestrians, versus someone who slips on black ice and spins out of control.
I am fundamentally opposed to "throwing the book" at anyone - I'd much prefer a programme of evidence-based rehabilitation.
The image itself says something like "You deserve a seizure" but that image has been around for years - this person did not create that image.
There's documented evidence of intent here. The guy was trying to give their victim a seizure. There's nothing accidental here.
Of course if someone accidentally gave someone else a seizure, there should be different standards applied. Of course!
Also, yes, we need to make sure photosensitive people can browse more safely (for the same reason we put airbags in cars).
The book you throw at them isn't "giving someone a seizure", it's "attempting to harm someone intentionally with super malicious intent".
I'm kind of surprised that we don't have "epilepsy mode" in a browser somewhere. Just limit the redraw speed. It'd mess with the browsing experience but much less than a seizure.
Same for TVs, for an epileptic user it's much better for a highly dynamic scene to look washed out or just blur to a whitish color than to show it accurately and potentially cause a seizure.