#加密圆桌讨论 Atkins's "Developer Liability Exemption Theory" is Technically Neutral**

Atkins emphasizes that engineers should not be held responsible for the misuse of code by others, and likens it to the idea that "developers of autonomous vehicles are not sued when users rob a bank", pointing to the **neutral properties** of technological tools. This aligns with the principle of "liability separation" in the open-source software field—Linux developers are not responsible for hacker attacks. If DeFi protocols are viewed as infrastructure, the role of developers is closer to that of tool creators rather than financial intermediaries.

2. **Peirce's "Code is Speech" Needs Scope Limitation**

The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, but whether code is equivalent to "speech" is controversial. If code merely expresses technical logic (such as mathematical formulas), it may be protected; however, if it is directly designed as a **financial product** (such as smart contracts that automatically execute the issuance of tokenized securities), it may exceed the scope of speech. Judicial practice shows that the First Amendment **does not constrain private platform rules** (such as Twitter banning Trump's account), suggesting that the regulatory focus should be on the **functional use** of code rather than its expressive form.