{"id":96361,"date":"2026-04-21T12:18:50","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T09:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/?p=96361"},"modified":"2026-04-21T12:20:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T09:20:19","slug":"coin-center-advocates-for-code-as-a-form-of-free-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/coin-center-advocates-for-code-as-a-form-of-free-speech\/","title":{"rendered":"Coin Center Advocates for Code as a Form of Free Speech"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Programming code is a form of free speech that should be protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, according to Peter Van Valkenburgh and Lisandro Piper of Coin Center.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Big new Coin Center report on the First Amendment.<\/p>\n<p>Highly recommend reading if you, for example, happen to work at the SDNY and find yourself up at night wondering if the Supreme Court treats &#8220;functional&#8221; software as less worthy of strict constitutional protections.<\/p>\n<p>Spoiler, it\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wxlD7SXTEx\">https:\/\/t.co\/wxlD7SXTEx<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Peter Van Valkenburgh (@valkenburgh) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/valkenburgh\/status\/2046319487084114052?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 20, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>&#8220;Developers are authors and inventors, not agents, custodians, or fiduciaries. Requiring them to register or obtain licenses in advance ignores the historical logic of financial oversight and imposes a classic prior restraint on activities that are essentially self-expression. This is unconstitutional,&#8221; they stated.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>According to the experts, writing and publishing code is no different from writing a book or publishing a recipe.<\/p>\n<p>The First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech and expression, essentially provides strict constitutional protection for developers who merely publish and maintain software.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When a Developer Becomes an Intermediary<\/h2>\n<p>Van Valkenburgh and Piper stated that their report aims to help courts and regulatory bodies distinguish between the publication of code and the professional activities of a software creator.<\/p>\n<p>A developer falls under regulation when they control user assets, conduct transactions on their behalf, or make decisions for them.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>&#8220;Lower courts confuse execution with expression, which undermines the First Amendment protection of code,&#8221; noted Coin Center specialists.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>They added that some judges consider code closer to execution than expression because it can be run to achieve real-world results.<\/p>\n<p>However, the experts insist that such activity is pure self-expression. They argue that this is confirmed by U.S. Supreme Court practice, despite errors by lower courts.<\/p>\n<p>Van Valkenburgh and Piper referred to the 1985 case of Lowe v. SEC. The high court then ruled that a publisher who does not hold client funds or conduct transactions on their behalf is protected by free speech, is not considered a professional market participant, and is not subject to corresponding regulation.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Programmers Should Not Be Scapegoats<\/h2>\n<p>Cryptocurrency protocols have eliminated some traditional intermediaries. With self-custody and <a href=\"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/news\/the-rot-in-russias-p2p-market\">P2P<\/a> transfers, there is no need for a central authority to control transactions.<\/p>\n<p>Traditional financial structures acting on behalf of users are subject to state regulation and must obtain licenses.<\/p>\n<p>According to Van Valkenburgh and Piper, the complexity of regulating new technologies does not justify attempts to make software developers intermediaries &#8220;for convenience.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>&#8220;Blockchain-based projects do not require the invention of new legal doctrines or exceptions. They require the good faith application of established First Amendment principles to a new technological context,&#8221; they added.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In the computer age, where software is the main means of expressing ideas and organizing economic life, &#8220;these principles are more important than ever.&#8221; Writing and publishing code is speech that cannot be silenced by licensing in a free society, Coin Center experts concluded.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Context<\/h2>\n<p>Crypto developers have been seeking legal protection from criminal prosecution for the code they write for several years. In 2025, a court issued guilty verdicts to several programmers based on how third parties used their software.<\/p>\n<p>A notable example is the trial of one of the founders of the crypto mixer <a href=\"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/news\/what-is-the-tornado-cash-mixer-and-why-was-it-sanctioned\">Tornado Cash<\/a>, Roman Storm. Authorities <a href=\"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/news\/jury-returns-partial-guilty-verdict-for-tornado-cash-co-founder-crypto-industry-dismayed\">found<\/a> him guilty of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmission business.<\/p>\n<p>Many experts disagreed with the decision. Samson Enzer, a partner at the law firm CahillNXT, stated that the government lacks evidence to prove Storm&#8217;s intentional assistance to criminals. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin also <a href=\"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/news\/vitalik-buterin-defends-tornado-cash-developer\">spoke<\/a> in his defense.<\/p>\n<p>The defense seeks to dismiss the case, citing the Supreme Court&#8217;s decision in Cox Communications v. Sony Music Entertainment. Lawyers argue that Storm had no intention of participating in the crimes he is accused of.<\/p>\n<p>In August, the head of the U.S. Department of Justice&#8217;s criminal division, Matthew Galeotti, <a href=\"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/news\/us-revises-stance-on-defi-following-tornado-cash-case\">announced<\/a> that the department would stop prosecuting DeFi application developers under the statute for operating an unlicensed money transmission business.<\/p>\n<p>However, Van Valkenburgh noted that the official&#8217;s words do not carry binding legal force.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Programming code is a form of free speech that should be protected by the U.S. Constitution, according to Peter Van Valkenburgh and Lisandro Piper of Coin Center.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":96362,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"1","news_style_id":"1","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"Programming code is a form of free speech protected by the U.S. Constitution, says Coin Center.","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1510,1138,36,1314,26],"class_list":["post-96361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-coin-center","tag-opinions","tag-regulation","tag-tornado-cash","tag-usa"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"4","promo_type":"1","layout_type":"1","short_excerpt":"Programming code is a form of free speech protected by the U.S. Constitution, says Coin Center.","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96361"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96363,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96361\/revisions\/96363"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/u1f987.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}