NightTrain
06-12-2015, 02:42 PM
I generally refrain from saying threatening things about anyone on the internet, precisely because of stories like this.
People get heated when discussing different topics and might type something that DOJ or NSA or a myriad of different Fed watchdogs might decide is over the line... especially when it comes to any government official or, heaven forbid, Obama.
Looks like this website owner stuck to his guns and told the DOJ to pound sand, but I can see how this could quickly turn into an expensive legal nightmare for any normal citizen and the website owner.
WASHINGTON – Federal prosecutors are demanding libertarian news outlet Reason help track down six readers who made threatening comments about a judge in response to an online article, touching off a fierce debate over whether such comments are protected free speech.
The readers posted on Reason.com about wanting to kill the federal judge who sentenced Ross Ulbricht, founder of online black market Silk Road, to life in prison.
The Department of Justice claimed several comments crossed the free-speech line. In a June 2 grand jury subpoena obtained by Popehat’s Ken White, the government urged Reason to pony up digital data on its commenters.
“The subpoena commands Reason to provide the grand jury any and all identifying information Reason has about participants in what the subpoena calls a ‘chat,’” White wrote.
Reason, which publishes a magazine and website, reportedly says it won’t comply -- and they’ve got several free-speech defenders in their corner.
“Subpoenaing Reason’s website records, wasting its staff’s time and forcing it to pay legal fees in hopes of imposing even larger legal costs and possibly even a plea bargain (or two on the average Joes who dared to voice their dissident views in angry tones) sends an intimidating message: It’s dangerous not just to create something like Silk Road. It’s dangerous to defend it, and even more dangerous to attack those who would punish its creator,” former Reason editor Virginia Postrel wrote on Bloomberg View. “You may think you have free speech, but we’ll find a way to make you pay.”
Continued... http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/06/12/government-subpoenas-reason-for-cyber-identities-commenters-on-site/?intcmp=latestnews
People get heated when discussing different topics and might type something that DOJ or NSA or a myriad of different Fed watchdogs might decide is over the line... especially when it comes to any government official or, heaven forbid, Obama.
Looks like this website owner stuck to his guns and told the DOJ to pound sand, but I can see how this could quickly turn into an expensive legal nightmare for any normal citizen and the website owner.
WASHINGTON – Federal prosecutors are demanding libertarian news outlet Reason help track down six readers who made threatening comments about a judge in response to an online article, touching off a fierce debate over whether such comments are protected free speech.
The readers posted on Reason.com about wanting to kill the federal judge who sentenced Ross Ulbricht, founder of online black market Silk Road, to life in prison.
The Department of Justice claimed several comments crossed the free-speech line. In a June 2 grand jury subpoena obtained by Popehat’s Ken White, the government urged Reason to pony up digital data on its commenters.
“The subpoena commands Reason to provide the grand jury any and all identifying information Reason has about participants in what the subpoena calls a ‘chat,’” White wrote.
Reason, which publishes a magazine and website, reportedly says it won’t comply -- and they’ve got several free-speech defenders in their corner.
“Subpoenaing Reason’s website records, wasting its staff’s time and forcing it to pay legal fees in hopes of imposing even larger legal costs and possibly even a plea bargain (or two on the average Joes who dared to voice their dissident views in angry tones) sends an intimidating message: It’s dangerous not just to create something like Silk Road. It’s dangerous to defend it, and even more dangerous to attack those who would punish its creator,” former Reason editor Virginia Postrel wrote on Bloomberg View. “You may think you have free speech, but we’ll find a way to make you pay.”
Continued... http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/06/12/government-subpoenas-reason-for-cyber-identities-commenters-on-site/?intcmp=latestnews