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Comment by Validark | Hacker News Reader

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Why is leaking the video the right thing? There were multiple videos of the incident including footage from a EarthCam live camera. And the NTSB released multiple videos as part of their investigation. The video wasn't leaked in order to stop a coverup.

>Why is leaking the video the right thing?

Because it's in the public interest. The law doesn't state what's right only what's permitted.

Isn't that an even stronger argument that the leak shouldn't be criminal?

No, for the same that stealing an item isn’t okay because there is more in the back.

Impact and harm is absolutely part of the criteria by which we judge crimes and penalties. Not sure where you're going with that.

Of course harm matters. Stealing a priceless original is worse, and punished harder, than stealing a commodity out of a corner store. That doesn’t mean the latter is fine.

There's a spectrum between "not fine" and criminal prosecution!

> a spectrum between "not fine" and criminal prosecution!

And I’d say someone who premeditates a company wide shutdown, triggers it, and then doesn’t offer to help after its damage becomes clearly apparent crosses the line of criminal responsibility.

You can infinitely "steal" digital data. That's where the analogy breaks down.

Imaginary property is imaginary.

> Imaginary property is imaginary

Property, a social construct, is always imaginary. The ship on IP, from insider trading laws to copyright, has sailed. If the only argument against a potential crime is IP isn’t real, the person is probably wrong.

This is all very well but exactly what type of IP is CCTV footage? It's not copyrighted. It's not patented. It's not trademarked. ...trade secret?

CCTV footage is not a creative work, it doesn't even have an author.

You’re correct, it is not copyright. It comes closer to me asking to use your computer to check my bank account and then emailing myself all your identify documents.

Stealing physical property deprives its original owner of it. The same can't be said of IP.

So what? That at most means they’re slightly different flavors of the abstraction we call “property”.

And owning property — even physical property — entails having the right to prevent other people from using it, even in ways that don’t deprive you of it. You can’t drive my car without permission, even if you bring it back in perfect condition and I wasn’t planning on using it that day.

Leaking crash footage to CNN isn't clearly "the right thing". Except for CNN I guess, who probably got a lot of views and clicks from the footage.

A lot of views from general population rather than being buried.

Are you suggesting such incidents should not be reported on or captured?

The person got paid to grant exclusive rights to the videos to CNN, this wasn't just posting to social media to spread the word.

Source they got paid?

Ok and? CNN acquired the video and reported on it. They didn't hide or destroy it.

The NTSB provided the footage. Nothing further was required.

https://youtu.be/SQm-fRrNMjM

bro, no one is suggesting we should keep plane crashes secret, but yeah I do find it a little distasteful to turn on the TV and see the moment hundreds of people were killed.

Distasteful? I understand that sentiment for the family, but we should all be exposed to the horrors of these lapses. It’s exceedingly rare that you are ever subjected to the bodily carnage, and I’m reminded of when we ceased broadcasting footage of soldiers’ caskets coming home due to it dissuading popular opinion toward war.

90% of what is shown on a news channel is negative. Everything is driven by fear in that industry.

You can't turn on a news channel and expect to feel good.

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