from Hacker News

Sites begin self-censoring? Using Game Theory to Break The SOPA Code

by drunkenmasta on 1/22/12, 11:46 AM with 7 comments

• by arjunnarayan on 1/22/12, 4:15 PM

  The legal term for this is "chilling effect": from Wikipedia, this is 'used to describe the inhibition or discouragement of the legitimate exercise of a constitutional right by the threat of legal sanction.'

  This is well studied in law, but mostly in the context of freedom of speech. It is clearly applicable in this case as well, and I wish the author had looked this up instead of coming up with an independent parallel analysis of the same idea.

• by brador on 1/22/12, 2:36 PM

  The next step is Stockholm syndrome.

  Where self censoring sites begin to believe they deserved to be censored.

  Look out for it.

• by swombat on 1/22/12, 1:58 PM

  Moderately interesting article, but what evidence is there that sites have begun self-censoring? There's no reference to the title in the article.