> Code is free speech though.
not morally, ethically, or legally
not morally, ethically, or legally
Typically this is followed up with a misunderstanding of the DVD-CSS decision, or a misrepresentation of Marilyn Hall's decision that code is speech somehow means code is free speech, but I'll bite. What precedent do you imagine holds that code is somehow free speech?
Please understand that I'm going to look it up and I'm going to push back.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2015/04/remembering-case-estab...
The debate is pretty settled that code and language should be protected by 1st amendment as free speech. Based on this precedent, we should not be cheering on the barring of the open source project and it’s developers.
It is less clear if the execution and use of code should be free speech, and how to regulate code and language when the sole goal is illicit. Like anarchist cookbook, 3D printed guns. But to argue this, you will have to argue the sole goal of Tornado Cash is to aid in illicit behavior. There are many licit users of the protocol, like with Tor, who just want to seek privacy in their online communication.
The issue comes down to whether sending and receiving private keys in an encrypted way over the internet should be protected or not.
The Tornado Cash case is all about money laundering, the fact that there was code to automate the process is besides the point.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilling_effect
The bigger problem is whether republishing the source code would make you a target of the sanctions. If a user republishes the source code on Ethereum, pirate bay, Gitlab, or another host then it is reasonable to assume their actions might be interpreted as “supporting the Tornado Cash project” which makes them a target of the sanctions. If a user modifies the code and republishes it probably will fall under same risks.
https://harvardlawreview.org/2020/02/the-establishment-claus...
> or a misrepresentation of Marilyn Hall's decision that code is speech somehow means code is free speech
Predictably, you referenced Marilyn Hall's decision that code is speech, and misrepresented it as support that code is free speech
Literally exactly what I said you would do
Do you disagree with the widespread reporting on the outcome of this case?
https://www.britannica.com/event/Bernstein-vs-the-US-Departm...
> Bernstein v. the U.S. Department of State, landmark legal decision (1996) that set two important precedents in the field of digital technology. First, it ruled that U.S. government regulations that barred the export of encryption software were unconstitutionally restrictive; second, it declared that software source code can be a form of protected free speech.
and
https://casetext.com/case/bernstein-v-united-states-dept-of-...
> The district court found that the Source Code was speech protected by the First Amendment, see Bernstein v. Department of State, 922 F. Supp. 1426 (N.D. Cal. 1996) ("Bernstein I")