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Data-Mining Ban Struck Down By US Supreme Court

Posted by timothy on from the about-your-nasty-std dept.

smitty777 writes "The Supreme Court struck down in Sorrell vs IMS Health a Vermont law banning data mining which has been in place since 2007. The court ruled that the data on medications prescribed by doctors is protected by the First Amendment and can be used for marketing by the pharmaceutical companies. This follows similar declarations in Maine and New Hampshire."

2 of 176 comments (clear)

  1. Freedom of Speech by geoffrobinson · · Score: 0, Troll

    They are supporting freedom of speech even when liberals don't like it.

    The Constitution says Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech. There are no qualifications on "speech." Not "only speech by individuals not collection of individuals like corporations."

    That was the basis of Citizens United and it was decided correctly. If you actually look at the text of the 1st Amendment, not if you are on some anti-corporate bent.

    --
    Except for ending slavery, the Nazis, communism, & securing American independence, war has never solved anything.
  2. Re:Long-term damage from the Bush Admin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Troll

    Um, in what way is "corporatist" not a philosophy of "limited scope of the federal government?" Doesn't limiting the scope of the federal government mean limiting its ability to regulate industry? And explain to us how you would have a free market without giving corporations (which are, by common law, legal "persons" in the sense that they are legal entities which are distinct from the individuals who run them, profit from them, or buy or sell to them) most of the same rights (free expression, free association, free ).

    You're not a conservative and you're not a libertarian - you just don't like paying taxes. You probably download most of your music from P2P, use free software (regardless of whether or not it's Free Software), and don't want bandwidth caps - hell, you probably favor having free wireless in every city paid for by advertising, which you can then use AdBlock to avoid. That's not conservative or libertarian, that's just like 95% of the so-called libertarians on the Internet - a selfish cheapskate who has elevated his selfishness to an ideology.