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In reply to the discussion: I was driving to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned today... [View all]MerryHolidays
(7,715 posts)I confess that I only read the link you provided, not the actual case.
I frankly don't care about "lies". I care about lies that hurt someone, and, at least from what I can gather from the snippet in the link, that's the distinction, as SCOTUS specifically draws the line at defamation or fraud.
A lie, in a vacuum, hurts no one. By contrast, a lie that leads to defamation or fraud does hurt someone.
If I said I was the handsomest person on earth (besides Vladimir Putin, who is clearly the sexiest fellow in Russia ), I don't hurt anyone except me, probably, as most would realize the foolishness of that statement and of me. Vlad, too, might be aggrieved and serve me a cup of tea or have some of his friends near the next open window that I at. If, however, I lie to you and say I will fix your water heater perfectly since I have fixed 1000 water heaters, when, in fact, I have fixed 0 water heaters, you probably can sue me for fraud or the government can nail me for a consumer protection violation.