34 ms·

The UK government does not care. The law applies no matter where you are hosted, where you are incorporated or who is proxiying you. >You do not need to abide

The UK government does not care. The law applies no matter where you are hosted, where you are incorporated or who is proxiying you. >You do not need to abide by UK laws, even if your website is accessible from there. The UK government does not agree.

ToucanLoucan 1y ago
I suppose in their defense, culturally, the UK hasn't respected many borders apart from their own so this really isn't anything new. Zing aside, I'd be thrilled to see whatever prosecutor or litigator or whatever they call them over there bring a case against a US based company for hosting content in the US, geoblocking the UK, a UK resident using a VPN to bypass that block, and making the case that that is somehow the US company's fault.
- mystraline 1y ago
  The UK also is trying the same stunt against 4Chan. The article is from a month ago, but the gears of "justice" rotate slowly: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyjq40vjl7o https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyjq40vjl7o One thing to note is that UK government officials also seem to be masquerading and submitting reports to try to ToS these websites.
  - userbinator 1y ago
    The response from 4chan's lawyers sums it up: American citizens do not surrender our constitutional rights just because Ofcom sends us an e-mail
- joe463369 1y ago
  > I suppose in their defense, culturally, the UK hasn't respected many borders apart from their own so this really isn't anything new. Did the US respect the borders of Hawaii?
  - ToucanLoucan 1y ago
    a) whataboutism isn't an argument b) if you expect me to defend in the slightest the US and it's own shady history regarding settler colonialism, rest assured, there is no risk of that.
    - joe463369 1y ago
      > whataboutism isn't an argument You weren't making an argument. You were repeating the tedious 'coloniser Brits' trope as a 'zing' in your words. I'm just reminding you that your shit stinks too.
thewebguyd 1y ago
But its still not the UK government's decision. They don't have sovereignty over other nations, as much as they'd like to think they do. All they can legally do is bitch and moan and order UK ISPs to block. There's no action they can legally take against Imgur.
- weinzierl 1y ago
  The US does exert its laws extraterritorially when there is a sufficient nexus to US interests too. Why wouldn't the UK be allowed to do so?
  - tart-lemonade 1y ago
    The US also has outsized influence in this arena due to the USD being the world reserve currency. Which isn't to say that might makes right, but it's easier to get your way when you can dictate the terms by which banks and nations can interface with the global economy. The British pound doesn't have quite the same level of soft power, so it must be wielded more strategically to avoid completely losing that which it still possesses. I don't imagine going after Imgur would be a worthwhile exercise of that soft power.
  - iamnothere 1y ago
    The UK? How many divisions do they have? Why shouldn’t Russia be allowed to exert their laws extraterritorially? Or Mali? Or Sudan? Or the Iranians? Or China? Or Israel? What you’re asking for is the end of the internet, full stop.
    - phi0 1y ago
      They are! Russia has been fining Google increasingly insane amounts for blocking state media [1]. It's the company's prerogative of whether they want to have a legal entity falling under the country's jurisdiction and whether employees want to travel there and risk being held criminally liable. It's likely simpler to just block access to the country's IP ranges (or ignore!) and move on. [1]: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdxvnwkl5kgo https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdxvnwkl5kgo

ToucanLoucan 1y ago

I suppose in their defense, culturally, the UK hasn't respected many borders apart from their own so this really isn't anything new. Zing aside, I'd be thrilled to see whatever prosecutor or litigator or whatever they call them over there bring a case against a US based company for hosting content in the US, geoblocking the UK, a UK resident using a VPN to bypass that block, and making the case that that is somehow the US company's fault.

mystraline 1y ago
The UK also is trying the same stunt against 4Chan. The article is from a month ago, but the gears of "justice" rotate slowly: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyjq40vjl7o https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyjq40vjl7o One thing to note is that UK government officials also seem to be masquerading and submitting reports to try to ToS these websites.
- userbinator 1y ago
  The response from 4chan's lawyers sums it up: American citizens do not surrender our constitutional rights just because Ofcom sends us an e-mail
joe463369 1y ago
> I suppose in their defense, culturally, the UK hasn't respected many borders apart from their own so this really isn't anything new. Did the US respect the borders of Hawaii?
- ToucanLoucan 1y ago
  a) whataboutism isn't an argument b) if you expect me to defend in the slightest the US and it's own shady history regarding settler colonialism, rest assured, there is no risk of that.
  - joe463369 1y ago
    > whataboutism isn't an argument You weren't making an argument. You were repeating the tedious 'coloniser Brits' trope as a 'zing' in your words. I'm just reminding you that your shit stinks too.

thewebguyd 1y ago

But its still not the UK government's decision. They don't have sovereignty over other nations, as much as they'd like to think they do. All they can legally do is bitch and moan and order UK ISPs to block. There's no action they can legally take against Imgur.

weinzierl 1y ago
The US does exert its laws extraterritorially when there is a sufficient nexus to US interests too. Why wouldn't the UK be allowed to do so?
- tart-lemonade 1y ago
  The US also has outsized influence in this arena due to the USD being the world reserve currency. Which isn't to say that might makes right, but it's easier to get your way when you can dictate the terms by which banks and nations can interface with the global economy. The British pound doesn't have quite the same level of soft power, so it must be wielded more strategically to avoid completely losing that which it still possesses. I don't imagine going after Imgur would be a worthwhile exercise of that soft power.
- iamnothere 1y ago
  The UK? How many divisions do they have? Why shouldn’t Russia be allowed to exert their laws extraterritorially? Or Mali? Or Sudan? Or the Iranians? Or China? Or Israel? What you’re asking for is the end of the internet, full stop.
  - phi0 1y ago
    They are! Russia has been fining Google increasingly insane amounts for blocking state media [1]. It's the company's prerogative of whether they want to have a legal entity falling under the country's jurisdiction and whether employees want to travel there and risk being held criminally liable. It's likely simpler to just block access to the country's IP ranges (or ignore!) and move on. [1]: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdxvnwkl5kgo https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdxvnwkl5kgo