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> Today it may seem obvious that communication using programming languages is protected by the First Amendment.

Actually, I didn't realize this. Good to know!

Though I kind of wonder what the limits to this are. Does a reporter have to disclose source code if they use it to calculate something the NSA/CIA/military don't want the world knowing? Can the government jail me for publishing source code it deems "obscene"?

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>Can the government jail me for publishing source code it deems "obscene"?

It's an interesting idea, but obscenity is a tricky one to pin down.. IIRC it's generally something that 'depraves and corrupts', and of course one man's obscene is another man's Art..

What would be obscene code and not already fall in the areas of law that already deal with illegality of code, i think that's one question to ask, in order to answer your question.

I don't trust Stallman's legal opinions when he's trying to make a point, but he claimed to think this was a real threat ( https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/censoring-emacs.html ).

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