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by Intermernet
3743 days ago
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I agree with you completely, but I do find the first amendment argument questionable with regards to advertising. Can advertisers make completely false claims and still be protected by the first amendment? It's still free speech, but the speech translates to other crimes, such as (in the worst cases) fraud. Where is the line in the sand here? EDIT: To simplify: As an individual, to what degree is my right to free speech mitigated if I use that speech to mislead others? I presume that con-artists can't use "free speech" as a defense... |
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Well that's kind of the problem isn't it? Sure, you can criminalise outright lying (and perhaps we could do better at that), but things get a lot murkier as soon as you go any further.
Besides, most of the manipulation of advertising isn't about explicitly misinforming people, it's about associations and familiarity. You can't ban an advert saying "Coca cola exists", but it's still going to mean people end up choosing it over potentially better options.