[HN Gopher] SEC Gag Orders Silence the Accused
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       SEC Gag Orders Silence the Accused
        
       Author : caprock
       Score  : 14 points
       Date   : 2022-08-24 20:50 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (reason.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (reason.com)
        
       | caprock wrote:
       | Does anyone know more about the case noted in the article? Are
       | there public lists of SEC settlements?
        
       | tarakat wrote:
       | Since the SEC is the government, doesn't this practice run afoul
       | of the 1st Amendment?
       | 
       | Taking away rights may be an essential part of punishment, but
       | the rights taken should be only in pursuit of that punishment
       | (e.g. imprisonment takes away the right of free movement).
       | 
       | Then there is also the public's right to know about how
       | government agencies act in their name. Imagine if prosecutors
       | routinely demanded gag orders as part of plea deals, forbidding
       | convicts from discussing their trial or prison conditions. The
       | SEC practice is less egregious, but qualitatively equivalent.
        
         | staticman2 wrote:
         | This is a civil matter, so it's in some ways more analogous to
         | a google employee keeping quiet out of fear they'll be sued for
         | violating a non disclosure agreement with google.
         | 
         | Or a rape victim being unable to speak out about the fact they
         | were raped due to the terms of the settlement with the rapist.
         | 
         | I guess I'm saying limits on speech due to fear of being sued
         | are not unusual under our system.
        
           | tarakat wrote:
           | Your examples are contracts between private parties, entered
           | freely. This is a contract with the government, signed under
           | threat of prosecution.
        
             | staticman2 wrote:
             | My examples involve the government (the judicial branch is
             | a branch of government) limiting speech on behalf of Google
             | or a rapist.
        
       ___________________________________________________________________
       (page generated 2022-08-24 23:02 UTC)