Bergman 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Media Organizations Ask US To Drop Charges Against Assange

    Bergman ( profile ), 05 Dec, 2022 @ 08:01pm

    Just because you may have written about something doesn’t make you the sole authority or even an expert. Biased journalists write lies every moment of every day all around the world, after all.

  • On the post: Media Organizations Ask US To Drop Charges Against Assange

    Bergman ( profile ), 05 Dec, 2022 @ 07:56pm

    Ironically, Trump himself could be charged under the 1917 Espionage Act for his recent confidential documents problem. It is, after all, a violation of exactly the same law that was behind both Hillary Clinton’s email server scandal and Edward Snowden’s espionage charge.

  • On the post: EFF Asks Court To Rein In Orange County, CA’s DNA Dragnet

    Bergman ( profile ), 30 Nov, 2022 @ 06:01pm

    Coercion and Citizen’s Arrest

    Suppose you or I were to see someone commit a crime, approach them, inform them of their crime, but offer to not arrest them in exchange for them waiving a right or two - say for example, their right to the money in their wallet or their right to keep their daughter’s phone number private. Would that be lawful? Or would it be declared coercion and our own arrest would follow? Police and prosecutors have LESS freedom to ignore due process than someone making a citizen’s arrest does, by law.

  • On the post: Mercedes Puts Faster Acceleration Behind A Subscription Paywall

    Bergman ( profile ), 28 Nov, 2022 @ 06:18am

    So basically, we aren’t allowed to hack the computer because it runs proprietary code… so why not just wipe the code and load your own? Or even rip out the old computer hardware and install your own? As long as it meets emissions laws, I can’t think of any reason not to other than complexity.

  • On the post: Ohio City’s Failure To Control Cops Results In Jury Awarding $4.4 Million To Family Of Man Killed By Officer

    Bergman ( profile ), 23 Nov, 2022 @ 06:23am

    If people could be trusted to police themselves, we’d have no need for a police force. People don’t stop being people just because they put on a uniform.

  • On the post: It’s Not Anyone In The Senate’s Job To Save Twitter From Elon Musk

    Bergman ( profile ), 14 Nov, 2022 @ 04:31pm

    Retaliation

    Members of Congress probably shouldn’t be making threats of retaliation against people for exercising freedom of speech, as federal law has some fairly sharp teeth when it comes to the consequences of that: “ If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person [...] in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same;... They shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, they shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.” — Title 18, Chapter 13, Section 241 of the United States Code

  • On the post: Twitter Blue’s New Verification / Not Verification Scheme Widely Abused On Day One

    Bergman ( profile ), 12 Nov, 2022 @ 05:20pm

    Verified Unverifiable? 🤣

  • On the post: The Elon Speedrun Continues; Apparently Comedy Is Not Quite Legal On The New Twitter

    Bergman ( profile ), 07 Nov, 2022 @ 02:39pm

    Might be funny to pay a hacker to suspend @elonmusk for impersonating himself…

  • On the post: The Elon Speedrun Continues; Apparently Comedy Is Not Quite Legal On The New Twitter

    Bergman ( profile ), 07 Nov, 2022 @ 02:37pm

    Nope, it wouldn’t violate the first amendment, because the first amendment itself already does exactly that - and always has. Freedom to speak also includes the freedom to not speak. Freedom to assemble includes the freedom to not assemble.

  • On the post: Washington Bikini Baristas Lose 1st Amendment Challenge To City Ban, But Win On Equal Protection Cause Claims

    Bergman ( profile ), 31 Oct, 2022 @ 04:04pm

    Tattoos

    I wonder if the presence of tattoos in the areas normally covered by clothing, particularly tattoos that convey some sort of message, might bridge the gap into 1st amendment territory that simple bare skin fails to?

  • On the post: Finally: Countries Start To Rebel Against Corporate Sovereignty, But Ten Years Too Late

    Bergman ( profile ), 31 Oct, 2022 @ 03:54pm

    Sounds like an awesome idea until you get to the unintended consequences that would result. Countries lend each other money. Companies decide if doing business with Country A or Country B would be more profitable. If a country cannot be trusted to uphold deals it makes, no one will ever make those deals. Can you say “worst recession in human history”? I bet you can!

  • On the post: Finally: Countries Start To Rebel Against Corporate Sovereignty, But Ten Years Too Late

    Bergman ( profile ), 31 Oct, 2022 @ 03:52pm

    Sure. But since that would interfere with profits, it would entitle companies to sue the country again, or possibly just sue them for enough that the country ends up paying its own taxes instead of the company.

  • On the post: Telecom Experts Tell EU Leaders Their Plan To Tax ‘Big Tech’ On Behalf of ‘Big Telecom’ Is A Dumb Idea

    Bergman ( profile ), 31 Oct, 2022 @ 06:40am

    It’s even crazier when you realize that the content provider ALSO has to pay for a X Mbit/s 24/7 internet connection, and that they’re paying a LOT more for their connection than any individual person does.

  • On the post: Telecom Experts Tell EU Leaders Their Plan To Tax ‘Big Tech’ On Behalf of ‘Big Telecom’ Is A Dumb Idea

    Bergman ( profile ), 31 Oct, 2022 @ 06:38am

    They are ALREADY double-dipping. Netflix has an internet connection that they have to pay for just like you do, except they pay for more upload speed than they do download speed. They also pay for a LOT more connection than you do - where you pay a few dozen to a few hundred dollars a month, Netflix pays millions. What Big Telecom wants is to be not only allowed to triple dip, they want it to be mandated by law that they get their triple dip. So Netflix pays millions per month to be able to send content, you pay a hundred or so a month to get content sent to you, and then Netflix has to pay Big Telecom again for the services they have already paid for, because reasons. This ignores the fact that much of the network Netflix sends through is actually owned by Netflix, that they spent even more on than they do for a year of internet bought from Big Telecom. The way it works is you load up your Netflix app, it contacts a Netflix server via the internet connection you pay for, and asks for a list of content, which is sent to you through that network you’ve paid for. You then select your content, pay for it, and it is sent to you from a Netflix Content Delivery Network - 90% of the network that carries the content to you in most countries is owned by Netflix, not your ISP or any other ISP. That’s how it works now. Both you and Netflix have paid Big Telecom for access to their network, at exorbitant prices for that access, wholly decided by Big Telecom. If the service isn’t profitable, they raise their rates - on both ends - until it is profitable again. What Big Telecom wants is for Netflix to have to pay them a second time, to deliver the content you bought from Netflix to you, over the network you already paid for, even though Netflix already paid them to do so.

  • On the post: Netflix Kicks Back At Big Telecom’s Plan To Tax Big Tech In US And EU

    Bergman ( profile ), 28 Oct, 2022 @ 12:10pm

    Something to consider…

    A strong case could be made that if the existing exorbitant fees “Big Tech” pays for internet access now is a free ride, and these proposed taxes are to fully pay Big Telecom for their services, then a company that pays ONLY those taxes might be able to stop paying connectivity fees and still get full service. After all, those laws are written with the premise that “Big Tech” is paying nothing now.

  • On the post: Yet Another Renter Sues Hertz After He And His Teen Daughter Were Held At Gunpoint By Cops Following A Bogus Theft Report

    Bergman ( profile ), 28 Oct, 2022 @ 04:03am

    The problem with that view is that wrongly detaining someone for a crime they didn’t commit is more illegal than theft is in most cases - particularly shoplifting. If even the most minor theft justifies violence - even deadly violence - then it would equally justify violence by those falsely accused.

  • On the post: Yet Another Renter Sues Hertz After He And His Teen Daughter Were Held At Gunpoint By Cops Following A Bogus Theft Report

    Bergman ( profile ), 28 Oct, 2022 @ 04:00am

    It isn’t rocket science - when someone is accused of a crime that is in the same category of severity as armed robbery or attempted murder, police respond as if the accused is dangerous. Police exist to apprehend criminals so they can be tried in court, especially for major crimes. If they don’t do that - or are not allowed to do that, why waste so much money on having them at all? But without them, how would the victims of major crimes recover their property or achieve any semblance of justice?

  • On the post: Employees Reveal Zuckerberg’s Metaverse Vision Is A Clunky, Boring, Ego-Driven Mess

    Bergman ( profile ), 13 Oct, 2022 @ 10:45am

    If the equipment is mandatory to do the job, then it needs to be supplied by the company. Nobody expects an office worker to buy their own desktop PC for work, and nobody expects a public transit bus driver to spring for his own bus.

  • On the post: If Musk Completes His Twitter Takeover, His Fans Might Want To Start Supporting Section 230

    Bergman ( profile ), 11 Oct, 2022 @ 05:52pm

    Whoever wrote it, under current laws it’s legally soliciting human trafficking as written on the bathroom wall. Even if Musk does an about face on S230, the fact there are carveouts in S230 now, that apply to human trafficking, it might be too late.

  • On the post: Google Tries To Fend Off Telecom Backed ‘Big Tech Tax’ In EU

    Bergman ( profile ), 04 Oct, 2022 @ 03:00am

    Actually, it's more like "sender overpays", "receiver overpays", "third party middlemen pay for the 'privilege' of being middlemen", "sender pays again"

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