Re: ruling: liability for providers who don't act on clients' illegal activities?

[der Mouse <mouse () rodents-montreal org>]

> The interesting aspect of this ruling is that it [...] has affirmed
> [...] that "online behaviour" is (largely) ruled by the same laws,
> customs and so on as "real world" behaviours.

Except it hasn't, because it isn't.  At least not in general.

"Online" behaviour _is_ ruled by the same laws and customs as off-net
behaviour when all, or at least enough, of the parties are in the same
(off-net) jurisdiction.  _That_ is what this ruling has affirmed.

But, unlike offline behaviour, on-the-net behaviour is very often
thoroughly cross-jurisdictional, with no clear way to determine whose
laws apply.  Someone in Germany buys from a Japanese company through an
Egyptian-hosted website paying with a US payment broker and the product
ships from Brazil, and it's, um, a little less clear.

Nor do you really want it otherwise, I suspect, because I suspect that
most of your - and my, and just about everyone else's - on-net actions
are illegal _somewhere_.  Unless you expect to enforce your laws
against others but are unwilling to accept reciprocal enforcement of
others' laws againt you.

> If you really thought that just because computers, "virtual
> communities" and other such electronic ephemeera were involved that
> somehow all this "int-duh-web stuff" was magically "different" or
> "special", then maybe _you_ are the "special" one???

Not just because they're involved, but because they are fundamentally
different.  See by blah entry on the subject,
http://ftp.rodents-montreal.org/mouse/blah/2009-09-08-1.html,
if you're interested in my thoughts on the matter.

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