sampson@cod.NOSC.MIL (Charles H. Sampson) (11/14/90)
In article <EbCqmh200WAxQ0mlxX@andrew.cmu.edu> cs4w+@andrew.cmu.edu (Charles William Swiger) writes: > ... Again, distributing >information about how to deprotect a program is NOT illegal. To attempt >to prevent the distribution of such information would be a clear >violation of the "free speech" (First) Amendment of the Bill of Rights. "Free speech" seems to have been in the news quite a bit recently. Before talking about violations of the Bill of Rights, it might be useful to see what it says. The first amendment is "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech ...". Notice that that's a statement about what Congress can't do, and it says nothing about social pressure, your boss, a letters-to-the-editor column, or local movie censors. While a person might be upset if someone is trying to prevent his views from being heard, and he and others might consider such an act to be a moral outrage, it isn't a violation of the Bill of Rights. Charlie Sampson