
Governments are using charges of cybercrime to silence journalists - jtjones92
https://sociable.co/web/governments-charges-cybercrime-silence-journalists/
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RcouF1uZ4gsC
I think a fundamental issue is that journalists want to be a protected class
with special rights that are unavailable to the average citizen. A journalist
should have exactly the same rights as the average citizen. Thus, if the laws
are not amenable to an average citizen looking into the affairs of their
government, fix the laws, don't try to carve out exceptions for journalists.

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1MachineElf
>A journalist should have exactly the same rights as the average citizen.

It should be the other way around: The average citizen should have exactly the
same rights as a journalist. If it were so, then public animosity towards the
media would dwindle.

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RcouF1uZ4gsC
I think we are in violent agreement.

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oliwarner
There has to be a balance, and that balance has to be continually tested in
the courts.

So on the face of it, I do think it's appropriate that journalists get charged
when they commit a crime. Let a high court decide if indeed the public
interest did outweigh the law, or somebody's privacy, or whatever. You can't
codify it.

Some will call that a chilling effect, or harassment, but how else do you
reliably test things like this?

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HashThis
Future crimes: Aggravated tweeting. Seditious live stream.

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phendrenad2
TL;DR: Journalists saying things you don't like? Just tweak the laws (or
misapply current laws) to make them criminals. EZ

