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Comment by deviantbit | Hacker News Reader

The FTC is upset Amazon executives used Signal. Where do you begin with this?

I guess we begin with the FTC’s claim? Which is not really that they’re upset about Signal, they’re accusing Amazon execs of destroying evidence that was in scope for the FTC investigation. Signal just happens to be the method they’re claiming was used to destroy evidence.

Is this really destroying evidence? It sounds like they avoided creating it.

If this was 50 years ago they would have just met in person, to avoid any kind of paper trail.

If you have an automated process for destroying evidence, that’s still destroying evidence.

I don’t think “50 years ago it would have been easier to get away with it” is something judges and regulators generally go for.

Should platforms like Snapchat not exist, because the primary feature is automatically destroying potential evidence?

Is that the primary feature? It’s not a crime for most people to send messages to their friends and have those messages be deleted.

But certain types of communication, especially by parties that have been told they are under investigation and are discussing the matter being investigated, must be preserved.

No, it is fine for platforms like this to exist, you just shouldn’t use them for business, particularly if you know your business is under investigation.

Yes, it really is. The same as if they’d written each other letters and then burned the letters.

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