4 ms·

If I'm a Ugandan film company, I make a film, sell it in Uganda and then set up a streaming website that allows access to it for $1 USD without regional restric

If I'm a Ugandan film company, I make a film, sell it in Uganda and then set up a streaming website that allows access to it for $1 USD without regional restrictions, which regulations do you believe I'm breaking?

throwaway290 3y ago
If you sell it to EU customers then I guess EU laws? If to China, Chinese?
- TheHappyOddish 3y ago
  And why would I be subject to those laws as a Ugandan, hosting a movie on a Ugandan web server?
  - throwaway290 3y ago
    what you describe makes you a Ugandan engaging in business in EU, China, etc. So subject to any local laws. Things like paying EU VAT apply to you too.
    - Aeolun 3y ago
      In practice nobody polices this until you are big enough to deal with it though.
      - throwaway290 3y ago
        Big like Hollywood publishers. We were talking about why they don't release stuff worldwide immediately, so there you go.. because of local laws, not because they "don't care". They care about money. Btw recommending to ignore local laws and not pay tax and such seems like bad advice. If in doubt hire a lawyer
    - TheHappyOddish 3y ago
      But I'm not engaging in business there. I'm selling an item on my website, I don't know who's buying it and where it's from. How could I possibly police that? If a visitor on a Portugese IP with a Canadian credit card wants to stream my movie, is it my responsibility to uncover their identity? If I don't, under what law can I be proscuted? You say "local law", but I don't live within these places, so how can I be subject to them? How will they enforce them?
      - throwaway290 3y ago
        > not engaging in business > selling an item ... > If a visitor on a Portugese IP with a Canadian credit card wants to stream my movie, is it my responsibility to uncover their identity IP or billing address etc. you should be able to show you do what's required to comply with local laws. When things are "not available" in some country it means the company is working through the legal system to make sure they don't violate laws. > You say "local law", but I don't live within these places, so how can I be subject to them? How will they enforce them? If you want me to tell you "it's OK to violate laws if I will not be punished" then nothing I say will matter. I know this attitude because I grew up in a country where many people thought that way. But if you want to do honest business and have clear conscience, yes you are still subject to local laws... it's never too late to start following them
        TheHappyOddish 3y ago
        > If you want me to tell you "it's OK to violate laws if I will not be punished" then nothing I say will matter. I know this attitude because I grew up in a country where many people thought that way. But if you want to do honest business and have clear conscience, yes you are still subject to local laws... I understand how you got there, but that's not what I meant. I mean why would I be subject to local laws of a company I have no legal entity in and have never been to? e.g I'm not subject to Sharia law, because I don't live in a country where this is the case. Is it dishonest for me not to follow this law? There are countries where holocaust denial is illegal. Aside from the poor taste of doing so, should I obey this law despite not being in a country with this law? My point is that if I put something up on my web server I host in my country, it is not my responsibility to understand if the content is legal in every country in the world before doing so, despite some of them maybe having laws against it. Why do you believe this becomes my responsibility if I decide to sell the content?

throwaway290 3y ago

If you sell it to EU customers then I guess EU laws? If to China, Chinese?

TheHappyOddish 3y ago
And why would I be subject to those laws as a Ugandan, hosting a movie on a Ugandan web server?
- throwaway290 3y ago
  what you describe makes you a Ugandan engaging in business in EU, China, etc. So subject to any local laws. Things like paying EU VAT apply to you too.
  - Aeolun 3y ago
    In practice nobody polices this until you are big enough to deal with it though.
    - throwaway290 3y ago
      Big like Hollywood publishers. We were talking about why they don't release stuff worldwide immediately, so there you go.. because of local laws, not because they "don't care". They care about money. Btw recommending to ignore local laws and not pay tax and such seems like bad advice. If in doubt hire a lawyer
  - TheHappyOddish 3y ago
    But I'm not engaging in business there. I'm selling an item on my website, I don't know who's buying it and where it's from. How could I possibly police that? If a visitor on a Portugese IP with a Canadian credit card wants to stream my movie, is it my responsibility to uncover their identity? If I don't, under what law can I be proscuted? You say "local law", but I don't live within these places, so how can I be subject to them? How will they enforce them?
    - throwaway290 3y ago
      > not engaging in business > selling an item ... > If a visitor on a Portugese IP with a Canadian credit card wants to stream my movie, is it my responsibility to uncover their identity IP or billing address etc. you should be able to show you do what's required to comply with local laws. When things are "not available" in some country it means the company is working through the legal system to make sure they don't violate laws. > You say "local law", but I don't live within these places, so how can I be subject to them? How will they enforce them? If you want me to tell you "it's OK to violate laws if I will not be punished" then nothing I say will matter. I know this attitude because I grew up in a country where many people thought that way. But if you want to do honest business and have clear conscience, yes you are still subject to local laws... it's never too late to start following them
      - TheHappyOddish 3y ago
        > If you want me to tell you "it's OK to violate laws if I will not be punished" then nothing I say will matter. I know this attitude because I grew up in a country where many people thought that way. But if you want to do honest business and have clear conscience, yes you are still subject to local laws... I understand how you got there, but that's not what I meant. I mean why would I be subject to local laws of a company I have no legal entity in and have never been to? e.g I'm not subject to Sharia law, because I don't live in a country where this is the case. Is it dishonest for me not to follow this law? There are countries where holocaust denial is illegal. Aside from the poor taste of doing so, should I obey this law despite not being in a country with this law? My point is that if I put something up on my web server I host in my country, it is not my responsibility to understand if the content is legal in every country in the world before doing so, despite some of them maybe having laws against it. Why do you believe this becomes my responsibility if I decide to sell the content?