#55: 3D Printing, Free Speech, and Gun Rights

Tech Policy Podcast

TechFreedom

Technology

4.8 • 45 Ratings

🗓️ 6 April 2016

⏱️ 20 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

3D printing is revolutionizing manufacturing, but not without controversy. The technology has made printing guns in your home relatively easy and cheap using open-source code provided by organizations like Defense Distributed. The nonprofit came under fire from the State Department, which alleged that disseminating code to print 3D guns is akin to international arms trafficking. Evan is joined by Randal Meyer, a legal associate at the Cato Institute, which filed a brief in Defense Distributed v. U.S. Dep’t of State. They discuss the case and its implications for free speech, gun rights, and our economy. Is computer code always free speech? Is there a legitimate public interest in banning citizens from printing their own guns? See Cato’s brief here.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome to the Tech Policy podcast. I'm Evan Swartzchrober, your host. On today's show,
0:10.3	3D printing. New technology is changing the nature of manufacturing, and 3D printing has the
0:16.7	potential to revolutionize our economy in many ways. It brings production closer to the
0:22.4	consumer. It minimizes the need for manufacturers to maintain large inventories. Shipping spare
0:29.7	parts around the world is less necessary if you can print them right in your backyard.
0:35.4	And even average consumers can have the opportunity to design and manufacture products
0:40.2	in their home.
0:41.2	But this technology is also causing controversy as 3D printing has made manufacturing guns
0:48.0	relatively easy.
0:49.6	So the government clearly has a concern if people can just throw together a gun with a 3D
0:54.0	printer, but it also
0:54.9	raises issues around the First Amendment and the Second Amendment. Joining me to discuss this is
1:00.0	Randall Meyer, a legal associate at the Cato Institute, who co-wrote a legal brief in Defense
1:05.7	Distributed v. U.S. Department of State, a court case involving 3D printing.
1:12.3	Randall, welcome back to the show.
1:13.6	Thanks for having me on again, Evan.
1:15.8	So, Randall, Defense Distributed.
1:23.5	This is a non-profit organization, and they publish certain computer-aided drafting files.
1:29.2	These are the code that allows someone to print something like the Liberator, one of their signature products, which is a single shot handgun. This company, or not company, non-profit has
1:35.3	also been referred to as wiki weapons because of its open source nature and the way that it just
1:40.3	distributes files for 3D printing of guns without intellectual property attached to them.
1:46.8	So what exactly is the State Department's beef with Defense Distributed Randall?
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from TechFreedom, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of TechFreedom and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.