Ghost Gun Coding-as-Speech Loss Holds Line on Tech Regulation

A landmark Third Circuit ruling has increased tech companies’ chances of getting First Amendment protections for their computer code. But the power to assert that shield against the state will depend on how “expressive” judges consider the coding.

Cody Wilson, director of Ghost gun maker Defense Distributed, has fought New Jersey for eight years over whether the company can disseminate its designs for plastic 3D printed firearms. The federal panel decision Thursday affirmed that code could be protected speech, but said his organization hadn’t brought enough facts to prove “expressive” code. That felt like having a door opened a crack ...