What Does the First Amendment Have to Do with Tornado Cash?


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The Treasury Department sanctioned the Tornado Cash application a few weeks ago. We don’t know all the facts about what Tornado Cash did or didn’t do, but we assume it will take some time to find out. We’re assuming, based on what is publicly available, that OFAC only sanctioned a piece of code.

The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued a ruling that could have a chilling effect on the use of privacy-enabling blockchain technologies. The ruling prohibits US individuals from using Tornado Cash that allow them to limit access to their financial information. In effect, it requires all American blockchain users to disclose their entire on-chain financial history in order to use blockchain technologies. This is a dangerous precedent that could have far-reaching implications for the future of privacy on the internet. While you can still access Tornado Cash IPFS It is essential that we stand up for our right to privacy and oppose this ruling.

In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about whether or not code should be protected under the First Amendment. After all, code is a form of expression, just like writing or art. And, like all forms of expression, it can be used for good or ill. So, should code be considered speech? And if so, should it be protected under the First Amendment? Let’s take a closer look at this question.

To answer this question, we first need to understand what the First Amendment actually says. The amendment reads as follows: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” From this, we can see that the amendment protects two things: speech and assembly. But what does that have to do with code? Well, let’s think about it like this.

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When you write code, you are essentially creating a set of instructions for a computer to follow. In many ways, this is similar to giving someone verbal instructions on how to do something. For example, if I were to write a piece of code that sent an email every time someone visited my website, I would be telling the computer to perform a specific action in response to another action. In other words, I would be telling the computer to act in a certain way in response to someone else’s actions.

Just as my verbal instructions are protected under the First Amendment, so too is my code protected. This is because code is a form of expression. And expression is speech. Therefore, code is speech and should be protected under the First Amendment.

The problem with sanctions against open source developers and software like Tornado Cash is that they are a clear violation of the First Amendment. The Amendment protects Americans’ right to free speech, and this includes freedom to develop code and publish it without fear of retribution from the government. By imposing sanctions on these developers, the US government is effectively silencing them and preventing them from participating in open source projects.

In addition to being unconstitutional, these sanctions also have a chilling effect on the open source community as a whole. Developers who might otherwise be willing to contribute to open source projects are now hesitant to do so lest they run afoul of the US government and end up being sanctioned themselves. This ultimately makes for a weaker open source ecosystem, which benefits no one.

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In conclusion, we can see that code is a form of expression and should therefore be protected under the First Amendment. This amendment protects our right to free speech and free assembly. And code is essential for both free speech and free assembly in the digital age. With code, we can create websites, apps, and software that allow us to communicate and assemble freely online. For these reasons, it is essential that we protect code as speech.


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Abhay Singh

Abhay Singh is a seasoned digital marketing expert with over 7 years of experience in crafting effective marketing strategies and executing successful campaigns. He excels in SEO, social media, and PPC advertising.