Comment by meowface | Hacker News Reader

Comment by meowface | Hacker News Reader

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It is a slippery slope, though. Do we need to prosecute all manufacturers of homeopathic medicine and all doctors who recommend it for fraud? All psychics, mediums, etc.? Does this extend to religious healers? Similar to reiki, what about people who claim acupuncture or chiropractic adjustments or crystal healing can treat serious diseases? What about doctors who recommend Eastern medicine practices like consuming certain organs of certain animals to treat issues?

It is all fraud, but if we're going to be charging all people like that with fraud, then freedom of speech becomes infringed to some extent. Many of these fraudsters genuinely believe what they're doing is legitimate and isn't fraud. Many of the clients genuinely believe it's legitimate due to their belief systems.

An argument could be made that people should be allowed to spend their money as they choose and that the government should not be in the business of deciding if they're spending their money wisely. Gambling is another example.

The UK restricts advertising of medicine quite dramatically (you're not allowed to advertise prescription-only drugs), and has a specific ban on falsely advertising the ability to cure cancer.

> freedom of speech becomes infringed to some extent

Fortunately not everyone thinks that freedom of speech extends to freedom to defraud the vulnerable.

True, but many of the aforementioned fraudsters are careful to dodge around those laws and not make extravagant claims of effectiveness. They won't advertise that something can cure cancer. But during private 1-on-1 treatment sessions, they could imply otherwise.

Yes, we should prosecute all people who commit fraud for fraud. There are many people on both sides of Ponzi schemes who believe what they're doing is legitimate and isn't fraud.

Good luck criminally charging all of those hundreds of thousands or millions of people and dealing with the pushback from groups who say their freedom of religion and speech is being infringed.

Taking the slippery slope even further, organized religion (and religion in general, but the non-organized ones usually don't harm people too badly) is a fraud. Saying that prayer will help someone recover from disease is fraud. Scientology is fraud. Prosperity gospel is fraud. Compulsory tithing is fraud.

We could make all of these things illegal, but then you're crossing into authoritarianism. Psychics and mediums are no more fraudulent than any Mormon church (Mormon churches have compulsory tithing), in my opinion. It's all woo and it's all pilfering money from the gullible and hopeful, but I don't see why it needs to be illegal.

> freedom of speech

that's largely an American concept, along with the rest of your post. please stop assuming other countries are like the US, especially laws and legal systems. it rarely furthers the debate

It is, but American concepts like those in large part led to the creation of the company that made the website you're on right now.

But this article is about Canada, which is also pretty friendly to free speech, even if it's not to the extent of the US.

If they claim their homeopathic remedy has any medicinal benefit there is no proof for, then yes they should be prosecuted.

Thats not free speech. That’s fraud.

It strongly depends on the ways these things are advertised. If I market homeopathic medicine as "some of our customers report that it helped them, but scientific consensus is that these pills are indistinguishable from sugar" that's very different from claiming effective treatments.

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