Comment by goatlover
5 months ago
Why don't citizens have the right to track federal agencies? Don't they serve us? Apple is capitulating to autocratic rule.
5 months ago
Why don't citizens have the right to track federal agencies? Don't they serve us? Apple is capitulating to autocratic rule.
I'm gonna steelman an argument I don't hold: What about CIA? Revealing the identity of a CIA operative is a crime.
I'm just responding to the part "Don't they serve us?"
> Intentionally disclosing the identity of a U.S. intelligence agent, including a CIA officer, is a federal crime under the Intelligence Identities Protection Act (IIPA), which can result in up to 10 years in prison and fines. This law applies to individuals with authorized access to classified information and those without access who intentionally expose agents, knowing their actions could harm U.S. foreign intelligence operations.
But intelligence and law enforcement aren't the same thing, and the CIA is specifically prohibited from operating domestically. Valiant attempt, but talking about law enforcement (again, as opposed to intelligence) activities that take place in public is a matter of settled law. We decided that you're allowed to warn people that the police are around, even if it will help people get away with crimes, as a first amendment matter when we decided that police can't make it illegal for you to flash your lights at an oncoming driver to warn them (https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/headlight-flashing/). There's no steelman for this, Apple is just trying to preemptively comply with an administration that considers civil rights inconvenient.
Revealing the identity of a CIA officer is not a crime unless you hold/held a clearance or it is part of a 'pattern of activities' designed to reveal such identities. Regular people have freedom of speech.
Such a law protecting ICE would not withstand scrutiny by the courts.
I mean sure, but ICE is not an intelligence agency or holds classified information.
They're some kind of law enforcement agency that is on a mission to capture people breaking laws.
If your local sheriff is on their way to serve a warrant of some kind, and you call the person and warn them to leave or alert them to destroy evidence, is that going to go well? I don't think it should.
7 replies →
Yes - you have the right to observe public actions of federal agencies and agents and to report on them.
However a private entity, including Apple, is free to censor whatever they want on their platforms.
For example, I have the right to voraciously criticize or praise the current Administration or the prior Administration without government interference. However if you own a grocery store you are generally free to ban anyone wearing, or not wearing, a garment criticizing or praising either Administration (or any specific combination of praising or criticizing or referring to the current Administration or the prior Administration). Political views, unlike race or religion for example, are not a protected class under federal law even in a public accommodation such as a grocery store.
> a private entity, including Apple, is free to censor whatever they want on their platforms
In case of the duopoly, when the consumers have no practical choice of the platform, this should be illegal, too.
They do it in China? Customer needs and wants are profit driven decisions.
Should non-citizens also have the right to track federal agencies?
Apple and Tim Apple are here for profits. <---period.
They could not care less if you, the customer lived or died, as long as your check clears.
Source: Tim Apple sucking up to Trump like he's the antidote. This is even more ironic considering Tim's sexual orientation and Mango Jabba's take on "the gays".