| I don't think the logic here works. This is not about 'the specific proportion of disruption' - it's about impersonating police and emergency services. The 'disruption' is not just measured in 'how many calls and how much that disrupts' - it's a measure of civil disruption and confusion. "The case discusses a total of about a dozen calls." This is about a call per hour (!) because of a parody. First - a call an hour over 'confusion of some web site' is quuite high, and that alone is materially disruptive. Imagine having a startup, and your assistant is literally fielding a call every hour about some confused granny, immigrant/non english speaker, or other random person? That's a lot. It's also an indication of now nutty the situation must be and how such a large number of people were confused. But that's a bit besides the point, because it's clear that the man was ultimately impersonating a police officer to the point where obviously mebers of the community were confused as to the nature of what is going on. That's bad. Frankly, I can hardly believe what I'm reading about all of this. I think 'online' - people take academic positions that are detached from reality. Coupled with HN's obsessive libertarian/hacker streak, and you have an entire thread taking an absurd position, supporting a who's impersonating police, causing obvious confusion in the communnity. "The police had no urgent need to take action" ? They are literally getting a call an hour about some confusing over their online presence. They absolutely have to respond. This is not just some 'civic office' thing it's the frigging police aka 'emergency services'. "The charge is that the police did not like being parodied" No, there was someone impersonating the police wiht a whacko account - you can't do that. Legally, morally, pragmatically. I'm sure this guy probably thought he was just 'being funny' which is fine, and I think they should have just told him to put 'parody account' on the posts so that people knew it was a parody and that would be the end of it. If you want to find out how this works, go ahead and do the same to your local police. Make a 'parody account' (that looks identical to the real one) and really push the boundaries of what you think is 'free speech' and put out some seriously dark humour about specific individuals. Then see what happens. Again - a legit pardoy without confusion, 100% fine, but this guy should have the self awareness to realize what he's done. But instead he's trying to be a victim, claim that he has arbitrary rights to do things he shouldn't do, to make himself the center of atteniton and rake in a few million dollars. He should have apologized and changed the account. Also FYI I don't see why the police should have put this guy in jail, he shuld have been out on bail at minimum while it got cleared up. Frankly he should have been just told to 'take it down or mark it as pardoy' and that could have been the end of it right there. If he opens a true parody account that is labeled as parody and then he gets into trouble, we can take up the discussion again under the premise 'cops won't allow parody'. |
You can't to have it both ways and you don't seem to understand legal definition of ompersonation -
Impersonating is intentional effort to blend inm Parody is making jokes that stand out.
Just because you dont get the joke or are not clued in, does not suddenly give the joker Mens Rea and make him an impersonator. It's your problem, not the joker's.
If people read about your police force helping pedophiles, and it sounds like something the police would do, that's their problem.
> The 'disruption' is not just measured in 'how many calls and how much that disrupts' - it's a measure of civil disruption and confusion.
Oh man there is so much social confusion, so many people to jail.
Lets start with journalists that write about drone strikes killing innosent people. The government said any male over 16 is 'enemy combattant' and these journalists are creating social confusion.
Now, 9/11 truther? Causing confusion, straight to jail. You think enchanced interrigation at guantanamo is torture? Confused, straight to jail. Dont support war in ukraine? Confused, straight to jail.
You wrote an article about how FBI groomed autistic people into planting a fke bomb so they could arrwat them as terrorit? Super confused, life sence.