Death, Photos and Internet Privacy

[Malthus]

I forget which rule it is but Good god the internet really has a picture of everything.

Why would you capitalize "Good", but not "god"? 

No god worthy of the capitalization would allow Rule 34 to be invoked over this. 

[Malthus]

was she HOTT?

Before or after?

Well, she wouldn't have trouble giving head after, right?

I mean, you just have to pick it up off the pavement.

But think of all the extra holes her head had.


ok, even that one made me feel bad

I can imagine.

After all, some of those holes would be rough and jagged, withn bits of bone and stuff. That would feel pretty bad.

[Martinus]

was she HOTT?

Depends if the car caught on fire.

[Grey Fox]

I forget which rule it is but Good god the internet really has a picture of everything.

Why would you capitalize "Good", but not "god"? 

No god worthy of the capitalization would allow Rule 34 to be invoked over this. 

This is a good answer, so I'm going with it. Yeah.

[jimmy olsen]

"But it feels good knowing that at least now, at least in California, our case will (help) prevent this from happening to anybody else."

Is there coaching in law school to tell your clients to say crap like this? A settlement from California isn't going to stop a 19 year old from posting pictures from a crash.

It won't stop them, but it allows a quick remedy in court, where before this was not possible.

[Barrister]

"But it feels good knowing that at least now, at least in California, our case will (help) prevent this from happening to anybody else."

Is there coaching in law school to tell your clients to say crap like this? A settlement from California isn't going to stop a 19 year old from posting pictures from a crash.

It won't stop them, but it allows a quick remedy in court, where before this was not possible.

...

deep breath

...

[jimmy olsen]

"But it feels good knowing that at least now, at least in California, our case will (help) prevent this from happening to anybody else."

Is there coaching in law school to tell your clients to say crap like this? A settlement from California isn't going to stop a 19 year old from posting pictures from a crash.

It won't stop them, but it allows a quick remedy in court, where before this was not possible.

...

deep breath

...

Quicker than what these folks had to go through.

[dps]

This is so fucked up on so many levels.

But while I can understand the family's position, there shouldn't be any restriction on posting stuff like that.  If a local TV news crew had happened upon the scene of the accident, there'd be no doubt that they would be within their legal rights to broadcast footage showing her on their newscast (though the vast majority of news outlets would choose not to do so), and freedom of the press doesn't (or at least shouldn't) apply only to professional journalists.

BTW, NBC apparantly broadcast footage of the fatal luge crash, including shots of the Georgian guy being futilely given CPR.  By the logic of this decision, it would seem that his family should be able to successfully sue NBC.

[Sheilbh]

BTW, NBC apparantly broadcast footage of the fatal luge crash, including shots of the Georgian guy being futilely given CPR.  By the logic of this decision, it would seem that his family should be able to successfully sue NBC.

Sweet Jesus

I recommend Sontag's 'Regarding the Pain of Others' for thinking about this sort of stuff, it's provocative and well worth it.

[Razgovory]

BTW, NBC apparantly broadcast footage of the fatal luge crash, including shots of the Georgian guy being futilely given CPR.  By the logic of this decision, it would seem that his family should be able to successfully sue NBC.

Yeah, that I made a point not to see that as well.  Pictures of that Hamas guy on wheels that the Israelis blew away, fine with that.  That fucker deserved it.  This, not so much.

[dps]

BTW, NBC apparantly broadcast footage of the fatal luge crash, including shots of the Georgian guy being futilely given CPR.  By the logic of this decision, it would seem that his family should be able to successfully sue NBC.

Yeah, that I made a point not to see that as well.  Pictures of that Hamas guy on wheels that the Israelis blew away, fine with that.  That fucker deserved it.  This, not so much.

Both are news, and therefore I think it's dangerous to allow legal restrictions on what can be distributed (whether via print media, broadcasts, or the internet).  I have no problem with news organizations making a decision to not show them, and no particular desire to view them.

[Razgovory]

I agree, pretty much.  I only saw the Hamas guy cause CdM posted it once.  I admit  I laughed.

[Sheilbh]

Both are news, and therefore I think it's dangerous to allow legal restrictions on what can be distributed (whether via print media, broadcasts, or the internet).  I have no problem with news organizations making a decision to not show them, and no particular desire to view them.

But we have privacy laws.  So, for example, Tiger Woods and John Edwards can keep their alleged sex tapes out of the gutter press.  That you have that protection while mainstream channels are showing a not terribly famous sportsman dying strikes me as absurd and frankly disgusting.

[dps]

Both are news, and therefore I think it's dangerous to allow legal restrictions on what can be distributed (whether via print media, broadcasts, or the internet).  I have no problem with news organizations making a decision to not show them, and no particular desire to view them.

But we have privacy laws.  So, for example, Tiger Woods and John Edwards can keep their alleged sex tapes out of the gutter press.  That you have that protection while mainstream channels are showing a not terribly famous sportsman dying strikes me as absurd and frankly disgusting.

In balancing free speech and freedom on the press with privacy issues, in general the US comes down more in favor of free expression, while Europe comes down more in favor of a right to privacy.  In the US, being able to keep sex tapes and the like off the internet is more about intellectual property rights than privacy.

In saying that the family of the dead luger could sue NBC by the logic used in the case of the girl killed in the car crash, I was exaggerating a bit, because one thing that US law does recognize is that there is more legitimate newsworthiness in stories about public figures than stories involving the average person.  A random car accident victim and her family are going to have more protection of their privacy than a politician or a prominent athlete.

[Sheilbh]

In saying that the family of the dead luger could sue NBC by the logic used in the case of the girl killed in the car crash, I was exaggerating a bit, because one thing that US law does recognize is that there is more legitimate newsworthiness in stories about public figures than stories involving the average person.  A random car accident victim and her family are going to have more protection of their privacy than a politician or a prominent athlete.

Who'd ever heard of the Georgian luger before he died?  This guy wasn't prominent and that a news channel showed footage of him dying was ghoulish, nothing more.  I mean it's really despicable in my opinion.