New film ‘Code is Law’ explores moral quandary behind crypto hacks

James Craig’s documentary, “Code is Law,” debuting on October 21st, explores the ethical dilemma of whether code should function as law by analyzing significant crypto hacks, specifically the 2014 Mt. Gox hack and the 2016 DAO hack, which involved a $160 million decentralized autonomous organization.

The film frames the debate around whether an attacker exploiting a smart contract's internal logic is engaging in permissible 'fair play' or wrongdoing. It contrasts the perspective of hacker Andean Medjedovic, who allegedly operated under the anarchistic belief, "If I could take it, I had the right to," with the philosophical underpinnings of the 'code is law' concept.

The phrase is often attributed to Lawrence Lessig, whose work viewed code as a form of regulation architecting cyberspace. However, the article argues that code fails as effective law for two reasons: first, its rigid logic struggles to regulate the fluidity of human behavior, making flexible, human-administered laws more effective; and second, code lacks the ultimate enforcement mechanism—the monopoly on violence held by governments—meaning victims will inevitably appeal to external legal structures for recourse.

(Source：Cointelegraph)