3 ms·

It depends on the kind of website. If you're not advertising, selling anything, or otherwise doing any business through your website you're much more emboldene

It depends on the kind of website. If you're not advertising, selling anything, or otherwise doing any business through your website you're much more emboldened to not care about every jurisdiction. But if you're trying to make money through your website... well sorry you're doing business in those countries and I don't have a ton of objection to you needing to follow foreign laws. I'm fine with "balkanization" (I know some people from the Balkan countries... maybe they'd object to the use of that word) if it means a freedom divide and actual consequences for countries ever eroding freedoms.

fizzynut 1y ago
The huge plus of the internet is that you can be disruptive on a global scale on a somewhat even footing to the giants. If you place a giant burden such that before you even do anything of value you need to conform to 100s of different laws/regulations from 100 different countries you create a world where only large companies can exist and everyone else is pushed out.
- dexterdog 1y ago
  Isn't that the goal of these nonsense laws?
bigbadfeline 1y ago
> But if you're trying to make money through your website... well sorry you're doing business in those countries. Say, I'm the provider... well sorry, you (the customer) are doing business with a foreign country (mine) and you should do it in accordance with YOUR laws about YOUR country's foreign trade. That's the only way to properly conform to jurisdiction, amirite? In other words, UK has no jurisdiction over US businesses who conduct business from US soil, UK cannot force them to obey UK law just because a UK citizen decided to buy something over the internet. The UK can punish THEIR citizens for what the UK considers unlawful trades and that's always the case no matter what. Claiming jurisdiction over foreign businesses ends up in a completely lunatic situation where every business, in every country, has to obey the laws of every other country just because some people might decide to order from abroad. Block, ban, punish only where you have jurisdiction, everything else ends up in sheer insanity.
- bdangubic 1y ago
  I love this idea of businesses doing and selling whatever the F they want and citizens being punished based on laws in their country. not sure why US businesses even have to obey US laws?!? just punish the consumers/citizens and be done with it of course defining what “US” business is might be quite challenging, is Apple a US company?! They make nothing in the US and pay no taxes in the US … love this idea though!
  - bigbadfeline 1y ago
    > not sure why US businesses even have to obey US laws Because there are laws for US businesses over which the US government has jurisdiction. > just punish the consumers/citizens and be done with it. That happens too, when consumers break the laws that apply to them. In the case of international transactions, the law has to account for the pesky jurisdiction: It's nothing new, when travelers/consumers go through the customs, THEY are responsible for the goods they import, NOT the party that sold those goods to them! That's the only sane way to do it and it's an established practice, there's no reason to do it differently when a consumer imports something using the internet! > of course defining what “US” business is might be quite challenging, is Apple a US company?! Yes it is, also, Apple's branches in other countries are companies under the jurisdiction of those other countries. It's not that complicated.
    - bdangubic 1y ago
      > Because there are laws for US businesses over which the US government has jurisdiction. but why we have laws at all? if the US business can do whatever the F they want in UK why not in US too?
- riffraff 1y ago
  > That's the only way to properly conform to jurisdiction, amirite? No, you're not? It's pretty obvious that if you try to, say, sell illegal drugs to my citizens, I as a country will come after you even if it's legal on your side. The internet blurred the lines because you don't "show up" in the buyer's country but there's nothing new here: both seller and buyer need to respect the law.

fizzynut 1y ago

The huge plus of the internet is that you can be disruptive on a global scale on a somewhat even footing to the giants. If you place a giant burden such that before you even do anything of value you need to conform to 100s of different laws/regulations from 100 different countries you create a world where only large companies can exist and everyone else is pushed out.

dexterdog 1y ago
Isn't that the goal of these nonsense laws?

bigbadfeline 1y ago

> But if you're trying to make money through your website... well sorry you're doing business in those countries. Say, I'm the provider... well sorry, you (the customer) are doing business with a foreign country (mine) and you should do it in accordance with YOUR laws about YOUR country's foreign trade. That's the only way to properly conform to jurisdiction, amirite? In other words, UK has no jurisdiction over US businesses who conduct business from US soil, UK cannot force them to obey UK law just because a UK citizen decided to buy something over the internet. The UK can punish THEIR citizens for what the UK considers unlawful trades and that's always the case no matter what. Claiming jurisdiction over foreign businesses ends up in a completely lunatic situation where every business, in every country, has to obey the laws of every other country just because some people might decide to order from abroad. Block, ban, punish only where you have jurisdiction, everything else ends up in sheer insanity.

bdangubic 1y ago
I love this idea of businesses doing and selling whatever the F they want and citizens being punished based on laws in their country. not sure why US businesses even have to obey US laws?!? just punish the consumers/citizens and be done with it of course defining what “US” business is might be quite challenging, is Apple a US company?! They make nothing in the US and pay no taxes in the US … love this idea though!
- bigbadfeline 1y ago
  > not sure why US businesses even have to obey US laws Because there are laws for US businesses over which the US government has jurisdiction. > just punish the consumers/citizens and be done with it. That happens too, when consumers break the laws that apply to them. In the case of international transactions, the law has to account for the pesky jurisdiction: It's nothing new, when travelers/consumers go through the customs, THEY are responsible for the goods they import, NOT the party that sold those goods to them! That's the only sane way to do it and it's an established practice, there's no reason to do it differently when a consumer imports something using the internet! > of course defining what “US” business is might be quite challenging, is Apple a US company?! Yes it is, also, Apple's branches in other countries are companies under the jurisdiction of those other countries. It's not that complicated.
  - bdangubic 1y ago
    > Because there are laws for US businesses over which the US government has jurisdiction. but why we have laws at all? if the US business can do whatever the F they want in UK why not in US too?
riffraff 1y ago
> That's the only way to properly conform to jurisdiction, amirite? No, you're not? It's pretty obvious that if you try to, say, sell illegal drugs to my citizens, I as a country will come after you even if it's legal on your side. The internet blurred the lines because you don't "show up" in the buyer's country but there's nothing new here: both seller and buyer need to respect the law.