[oregontim]

Are all those printed sheets of paper so widely distributed by The NY Times corporation (or Jeff Bezos’ company, for that matter) protected by the First Amendment?



I’ll bet you suspect they should/are... and I would agree with you. So why not bots?

Interesting point, that one. Yes I suspect they should/are. I'd make two distinctions on bots vs. newspaper

1. And the advertisements that newspapers print are subject to regulation, not protected by the first amendment.
   
2. Bots are ads disguised as people. They ought to be subject to the same rules that require newspapers to clearly label and set aside ads that are designed to look like news content. They have to have "Advertisement" printed above and below, so we know. There's a reason for that ... and it applies to Bots as well.
   

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A "bot" is just a tool, like a loudspeaker - there is a real person or persons behind them.

Tools get regulated. Noise limitations, for example. There are real people behind those parties that disregard neighborhood noise rules. There are decibel limits in a lot of places. Air horns, loud exhausts, etc.

And most communities distinguish between a loudspeaker in a public gathering vs. a loudspeaker as advertising. Bots are commerce.

[oregontim]

Are all those printed sheets of paper so widely distributed by The NY Times corporation (or Jeff Bezos’ company, for that matter) protected by the First Amendment?



I’ll bet you suspect they should/are... and I would agree with you. So why not bots?

Interesting point, that one. Yes I suspect they should/are. I'd make two distinctions on bots vs. newspaper

1. And the advertisements that newspapers print are subject to regulation, not protected by the first amendment.
   
2. Bots are ads disguised as people. They ought to be subject to the same rules that require newspapers to clearly label and set aside ads that are designed to look like news content. They have to have "Advertisement" printed above and below, so we know. There's a reason for that ... and it applies to Bots as well.
   

---

A "bot" is just a tool, like a loudspeaker - there is a real person or persons behind them.

Tools get regulated. Noise limitations, for example. There are real people behind those parties that disregard neighborhood noise rules. There are decibel limits in a lot of places. Air horns, loud exhausts, etc.

And most communities distinguish between a loudspeaker in a public gathering vs. a loudspeaker as advertising. Bots are commerce.