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Comment by weinzierl

7 months 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?

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weinzierl

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tart-lemonade  7 months 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  7 months 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  7 months 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

    • thewebguyd  7 months ago

      > It's the company's prerogative of whether they want to have a legal entity falling under the country's jurisdiction

      Except in this case, Imgur does not have a legal entity falling under the UK's jurisdiction. They are purely a US based company. It's not like Google, Apple, etc. that have offices in the UK.

      This particular fine is the UK trying to extend its jurisdiction to entities that it has no sovereign authority over.

      Just because some UK user might visit my website doesn't mean I now have to follow all UK laws if I don't actually do business there, and don't intend to.

      Blocking the traffic is how we end up with the balkanization of the internet.

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