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by machiste77 1372 days ago
In the analogy provided (comparing a smart contract in a money laundering case to a gun in a murder trial) - wouldn't the responsibility lie with the person who operated the instrument?

In the gun analogy, wouldn't the comparison be putting the CEO of Smith & Wesson on trial because someone used one of their pistols in a murder?

Like a pistol, the Tornado Cash smart contract has legitimate and illegitimate use cases.
2 comments
SpicyLemonZest 1372 days ago
The comparison would be the CEO of Smith & Wesson setting up a smart contract which mails a pistol to anyone who deposits 0.5 ETH. I definitely expect he'd go to jail if he did that, even if he explained that actually he just put the pistol in a box and the mail system autonomously caused that box to be delivered.
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woodruffw 1372 days ago
Right. Regardless of any personal position I have about guns, it's clear that one actually had to go out of their way to possess one. Smith and Wesson doesn't make people purchase their guns and so, at least naively, it doesn't make sense to hold them responsible for every murder that happens with their guns.

On the other hand, if someone could demonstrate that S&W intentionally sells guns to markets where they know people will go and murder with them, you could draw a connection. And that is something someone could possibly demonstrate!

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soco 1372 days ago
Hmm, people in the US market do commit murder using S&W. How is this known fact helping? I think it needs more meat before being used as an argument.
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ARandumGuy 1372 days ago
Making comparisons with guns in the US isn't a great comparison, because the US has a lot of explicit protection for guns, gun owners, and gun manufacturers. These same protections do not exist for other industries, including banking.
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o_1 1372 days ago
Yes they're tools. they have tried suing gun manufacturers (even though they have protection for defense industry reasons). Automobiles are used in DUI fatal crashes every day. Do we condem alcohol or car manufacturers for their use in crashes? Furthermore do we condem auto manufacturers for vehicular homicide? Usage isn't bound to malicious intent.
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