# Ought blackmail be illegal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 14, 2019, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535 "2019-02-14T13:33:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535/1 "2019-02-14T13:33:50Z")
This occurred to me WRT the recent Bezos/Enquirer news. I’m no expert in criminal law, but I understand that there are many instances in which [blackmail is illegal.](https://www.justia.com/criminal/offenses/white-collar-crimes/blackmail/) Ought it be? If the information is gained legally? Doesn’t a large portion of capitalism rely upon taking advantage of superior information. If I legally gain information you would prefer to keep quiet, why oughtn’t I be allowed to see how much your privacy is worth to you? Personally, I’m not sure where I stand on this, and am willing to be persuaded. I’m generally a HUGE supporter of personal privacy, and am aghast at the power of corporations and industry to amass and use information on individuals. But intellectually, I’m not certain about the philosphical/public policy reasons behind blackmail being illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535/2 "2019-02-14T13:48:22Z")
Is the world a better place with more blackmail in it? Any time the free market exchange goes something like, “If you don’t do what I want, I’m going to take an action that makes the world shittier,” that’s a free market exchange I’m happy to get rid of. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535/3 "2019-02-14T13:50:22Z")
Corporate endorsed blackmail is something I wouldn’t look forward to in the mailbox. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535/4 "2019-02-14T14:02:25Z")
As a general rule, I’m not supportive of blackmail. But in my mind that is somewhat different to saying something ought to bear criminal penalties. I would imagine we could each come up with a bunch of activities that “make the world shittier,” but that are not crimes. And, I doubt we all would agree on what made it onto our individual lists. Here’s a perhaps silly example. Let’s say I know my friend is cheating on his wife. I tell him to pay me money, or else I’ll tell her. I did nothing illegal to obtain the info - maybe my friend admitted it to me. Did I commit a crime? Who is the victim? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535/5 "2019-02-14T14:18:39Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Here’s a perhaps silly example. Let’s say I know my friend is cheating on his wife. I tell him to pay me money, or else I’ll tell her. I did nothing illegal to obtain the info - maybe my friend admitted it to me. Did I commit a crime? Who is the victim? **Is** it a crime? I don’t know; IANAL. I _think_ it is, but I’m far from certain. **Should** it be a crime? Yes, I think it should. You’re trying to extract something of value to you from your now ex-friend via threat. Maybe it isn’t “your money or your life,” but it’s on the same continuum, just at a lower point on it. **Who** ’s the victim? Your ex-friend and his wife. If he gives in, they’re poorer by the amount of money you’ve demanded. If he doesn’t, you’re disrupting their marriage. In either case, it’s doing harm to them. If you felt it was in her/their interest for you to tell the wife, and you were trying to act in their interest, you’d just tell her. So it goes without saying that that’s not your intent. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535/6 "2019-02-14T14:45:31Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Is the world a better place with more blackmail in it? > > Any time the free market exchange goes something like, “If you don’t do what I want, I’m going to take an action that makes the world shittier,” that’s a free market exchange I’m happy to get rid of. “Do I like this thing? No? Police!” Very sophisticated standard for the initiation of violence against peaceful individuals. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535/7 "2019-02-14T14:48:25Z")
There exists an embarrassed person. There exists someone with embarrassing info. If blackmail is legal, embarrassed person can weigh whether to pay or not. If blackmail is illegal, the person with info sells to highest bidder or puts it out for free. How are you helping the embarrassed person by taking away his option to buy the other person’s silence. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535/8 "2019-02-14T15:16:33Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > There exists an embarrassed person. > > There exists someone with embarrassing info. > > If blackmail is legal, embarrassed person can weigh whether to pay or not. > > If blackmail is illegal, the person with info sells to highest bidder or puts it out for free. > > How are you helping the embarrassed person by taking away his option to buy the other person’s silence. Not only that, but it only makes it that much more inconvenient for the blackmailer to make a decent living. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535/9 "2019-02-14T15:19:21Z")
It depends on the circumstances. But in many cases, blackmail already is illegal. > [@](#): > > Many forms of blackmail are considered crimes under state or federal law. Most states treat blackmail as a type of extortion or coercion, which involves threats of violence or other harm in order to compel a person to do something. Blackmail is generally classified as a felony, which could result in multi-year prison sentences and large fines. > **[Blackmail Law](https://www.justia.com/criminal/offenses/white-collar-crimes/blackmail/)** > > Learn about the white-collar crime of blackmail, an offense at both state and federal levels that can involve the Internet and may overlap with extortion. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535/10 "2019-02-14T15:25:51Z")
> [@campp](#): > > Corporate endorsed blackmail is something I wouldn’t look forward to in the mailbox. “Hi, we’re your Internet Service Provider! Whoa Nelly your browsing history…” ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535/11 "2019-02-14T15:30:17Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > There exists an embarrassed person. > > There exists someone with embarrassing info. > > If blackmail is legal, embarrassed person can weigh whether to pay or not. > > If blackmail is illegal, the person with info sells to highest bidder or puts it out for free. > > How are you helping the embarrassed person by taking away his option to buy the other person’s silence. You’re not taking away that option. If blackmail is illegal, it gives the embarrassed person _another_ option. They can buy the person’s silence OR let the police/courts handle the matter. They may still choose to pay the person to make the matter go away faster and/or it might be cheaper (court costs money, they’d have to give the details to the police etc…), but they’re not forced to. Don’t think that just because something is illegal, people won’t do it. Also, making it illegal should, in theory, keep it from escalating since it gives people a [legal] out. Especially in cases where they’d otherwise [illegally] retaliate instead of paying. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535/12 "2019-02-14T15:31:34Z")
“In other news, the Supreme Court weighed in on\* Finders V. Keepers\*.” ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535/13 "2019-02-14T15:48:33Z")
“Hey, Mike. I just feel awful about keeping your affair secret from Mary. I see her occasionally and I just feel horrible about not telling her.” “No, no, no!!! You can’t tell her, it would ruin me!” “Well, maybe if I could afford to move far, far away I wouldn’t feel so bad.” Illegal? ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535/14 "2019-02-14T15:55:14Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > You’re not taking away that option. If blackmail is illegal, it gives the embarrassed person _another_ option. They can buy the person’s silence OR let the police/courts handle the matter. They may still choose to pay the person to make the matter go away faster and/or it might be cheaper (court costs money, they’d have to give the details to the police etc…), but they’re not forced to. > > Don’t think that just because something is illegal, people won’t do it. > > Also, making it illegal should, in theory, keep it from escalating since it gives people a [legal] out. Especially in cases where they’d otherwise [illegally] retaliate instead of paying. The person that has the info is less likely to make the offer to the embarrassed person because they could be accused of blackmail. Also if the embarrassed person pursues a prosecution, there’s a good chance the info will get out in any case. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535/15 "2019-02-14T16:19:15Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > The person that has the info is less likely to make the offer to the embarrassed person because they could be accused of blackmail. So, if they’re less likely to make the offer, then the information is of less value as well. If I happen to see someone I knew in high school cheating on his wife and I were the kind of guy to try to extract money from him over that, what good would that info be to me now? I’m not going to go out of my way to find and tell his wife just for kicks. I’ll probably just forget about it in a few days. > [@](#): > > Also if the embarrassed person pursues a prosecution, there’s a good chance the info will get out in any case. Yes, that’s why I mentioned that it’s only an option, they do still have the option of paying the person and hoping the person won’t talk anyways. ---
**Author:** ![JB99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JB99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JB99)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535/16 "2019-02-14T16:22:39Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#): > > How are you helping the embarrassed person by taking away his option to buy the other person’s silence. Are you fucking kidding me? You know what, fuck this forum. This is dumb as shit, and so are you. I’m out. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535/17 "2019-02-14T17:09:25Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > “Hi, we’re your Internet Service Provider! Whoa Nelly your browsing history…” This is, of course, the logical extrapolation. You think you’re paying a lot \*now \*for internet access? Imagine if your ISP discovers this revenue source… ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535/18 "2019-02-14T17:12:22Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > This is, of course, the logical extrapolation. You think you’re paying a lot \*now \*for internet access? Imagine if your ISP discovers this revenue source… …and then demands that you allow a slew of extra ads in order to keep your service. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535/19 "2019-02-14T17:23:43Z")
> [@JB99](#): > > Are you fucking kidding me? > > You know what, fuck this forum. This is dumb as shit, and so are you. I’m out. He’s not kidding. He thinks that his analysis is sophisticated. I see no incentive in engaging with him. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535/20 "2019-02-14T17:41:57Z")
> [@JB99](#): > > Are you fucking kidding me? > > You know what, fuck this forum. This is dumb as shit, and so are you. I’m out. This is a warning for personal insults. [/moderating] [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ought-blackmail-be-illegal/829535.md?page=2)