<nettime> Corporate Free Speech Battle is Escalating

[Curt Hagenlocher <curth@motek.com>]

http://www.latimes.com/business/20010527/t000044302.html

"Business leaders exult in what they say is a long-overdue
recognition that corporations have constitutional rights
too.
"'In the United States, we still have certain legislation
and certain rules that were designed for another period,'
AOL Time Warner Chief Executive Gerald Levin said recently.
'Increasingly, through the help of the courts--that is,
the reach of the 1st Amendment--we'll have opportunities.'"

[...]

"Even the requirement that a Web site post its privacy
policy is vulnerable to being struck down as a form of
'compelled speech,' said UCLA law professor Eugene
Volokh, who believes 1st Amendment protections should
trump privacy rights.
"If the government is allowed to restrict the spread
of one kind of information, such as Social Security
numbers or public records, it might be tempted to try
to restrict another type of information, such as
newspaper articles, Volokh said."

--

So, let me get this straight: a corporation can sell my
Social Security number, because to prevent them from doing
so would be a violation of their "First Amendment rights",
but for me, it's "use Napster, go to jail"?

--
Curt Hagenlocher
curth@motek.com

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