Per Daily Kos:
In a 6-3 decision today, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional Vermont’s Prescription Confidentiality Law, finding it to unconstitutionally burden the speech of pharmaceutical marketers and data miners without adequate justification.
Yes. You heard that right. We’re violating the freedom of speech of people who wish to engage in marketing by not allowing them to mine data for marketing purposes. The law didn’t restrict what they could say. It restricted their access to information that has nothing to do with health or policy. It restricted their ability to use a slimy tactic to engage in targeted marketing to health care professionals.
In short, the Supreme Court just decided that corporate freedom of speech is more important than the practice of medicine.
Or, even shorter, ALL YOUR PRIVACY ARE BELONG TO US.
And it’s not at all like tyranny!
“Commercial speech” AKA advertising and marketing has a long history of regulation. This trend towards treating marketing as protected first amendment speech is the work of activist judges who have no respect for the original intent of our Founders.
what part of this is a surprise???? exxon continues to make a gazillion dollars a quarter selling oil to china and we give them a tax break for it-supported by our fine democratic as well as republican legislators for the (majority) most part, and it took -what?? 20 years to get to the point where the photographic truth could end up on camel packages???
the change in the scotus is just like now stepping into the 10 items or less line. great decisions for stockholders with no waiting…
Turn on fox for a little amusing discussion… every regulation now gets the “this will impact jobs” response…. that is clearly what the next election will center upon.
Just another day on the Roberts Court.
A earlier this week they legalized petty theft by large corporations, and a couple days ago they legalized pay discrimination in the workplace.
After that, eliminating the right to privacy is merely another day at work.
Tea Party folks are always talking about “liberty.”
They complain about having their “liberty” infringed by having to pay for Social Security and Medicare.
Do they not care about corporations having access to personal information?