I've just come to this story after seeing it on HN so I might have misunderstandings from being unaware of the background. Also, I neither reside in the US nor UK so I'd have not seen local media reports.
In short, I gather UK's Ofcom is threatening a US web site for online content that is lawful within the US's jurisdiction and unlawful in the UK as it contravenes the UK's Online Safety Act.
I am bewildered that Preston Byrne has even bothered to acknowledge Ofcom's correspondence let alone respond to it as the UK (Ofcom) has no jurisdiction over actions of any entity or person within the continental US—or for that matter the actions of those outside its borders unless, say, covered by treaty, etc.
That Preston Byrne responded to Ofcom seems strange given the fact that he is not only a lawyer but also head of legal and compliance at Arkham law firm, thus he ought to be aware that is client is shielded from UK law by virtue that the UK has no jurisdiction on US territory.
If I'd been Byrne I'd not have even acknowledged Ofcom's correspondence with a 'fuck off/cease and desist' reply but filed it in the trash can. (If there's some mitigating matter I've missed here let me know.)
It's clear to me the the UK's Online Safety Act stops at its borders so the UK has full responsibility for blocking websites that are physically outside its jurisdiction, similarly blocking or stopping its citizens from accessing accessing them.
It seems to me many of the younger internet fraternity are unaware that there's longstanding precedent for how such matters are handled. Back in the days of the Cold War before the internet some countries used to broadcast propaganda on HF/shortwave radio bands to those that were their political enemies and recipient countries would attempt to jam the broadcasts so their citizens would not be able to listen to them. For example, Communist USSR, China etc. would jam the BBC or the US's VOA (Voice of America).
Simply, if a country did not want its citizens to listen to the broadcasts of another country it was its responsibility to jam the incoming signals. It seems to me all that has actually changed since then is that nowady the unwanted broadcasts come via internet circuits.
Frankly, Ofcom has an unmitigated hide to threaten people who are acting lawfully within the US. That said, it's not unexpected, in recent decades the UK's been acting like a petulant bully, it seems to have forgotten that without it's empire it can no longer enforce its bullyboy tactics.
BTW, the matter of what content is or is not acceptable online is completely separate issue from Ofcom's behavior. Personally, from what I've gathered I'd find content on the SaSu website unacceptable and I can understand why many in the UK want it blocked but bypassing another country's sovereign authority is not the correct way to go about it.
The UK -- and many other countries -- assert that their laws do bind people outside their borders, regardless of the absurdity (in most cases) of attempting to enforce that law elsewhere.
I think it's important to fight these sort of things even in cases where they can't actually enforce it. For one thing, say one of the site operators in question have a need or desire to visit the UK at some point in the future, but can't, because there's some sort of legal judgment against them because of this. That would be a shitty situation.
On top of that, ignoring these sorts of things also ignores possible efforts by the UK to convince other governments (like the US) to adopt similar laws, or at least agree to some level of extra-territorial enforcement. Fighting these cases sends a signal to everyone involved. You mention the UK acting like a petulant bully: yes, sometimes a good way to counteract a bully is to ignore them, but other times it's good to fight back, even when the current bullying wouldn't be effective... because future kinds of bullying might be.
"The UK -- and many other countries -- assert that their laws do bind people outside their borders…"
I'm aware of that, it's become an increasing trend over the past 40 or so years as diplomatic norms have broken down, changed or become more disrespected. If it continues we'll see even more tit for tat reprisals as respect for international law and authority continues to break down (we're now 80 years on from WWII and the world has almost forgotten lessons learned and the international order that arose from that conflict).
"…have a need or desire to visit the UK at some point in the future, but can't, because there's some sort of legal judgment against them because of this."
I remember a time when my passport was stamped in big purple letters "Not Valid for XYZ" country for reasons like that (I could not legally leave the county if that was my destination).
Matters would likely come to a head if say US passports were stamped "Not Valid for the UK". Moreover, it's incumbent on a country to protect its citizens who have done nothing wrong by their laws—hence a country should so warn its citizens beforehand, and stamping passports with large signs is very effective.
This is all part of a much bigger issue too big to address here. It's why I believe it's going to get much worse before it gets better. As I said elsewhere, I believe that with the increase in political and cultural differences brought about by rising nationalism we will see an increase in geoblocking everywhere. I find the trends shocking but there's stuff-all I can do about them.
Edit: I must emphasize that whilst I'm defending the right of law abiding US citizens against action by other governments, I'm not defending the US Government per se (some of it's actions of late I consider alarming). Again, these are separate issues.
> I am bewildered that Preston Byrne has even bothered
Preston is not a legitimate lawyer and has never actually represented anyone. He only larps as an expert and spends an inordinate amount of time constantly trying to tell other lawyers how wrong they are, using his black-and-white god complex attitude.
By my subjective opinion, "real lawyers" represent clients, and most of the time win. This guy just complains and acts like he knows everything, and is often wrong.
When I said legitimate that's what I was referring to, not simply "passed the bar".
I read the article and I remain confused.
I've just come to this story after seeing it on HN so I might have misunderstandings from being unaware of the background. Also, I neither reside in the US nor UK so I'd have not seen local media reports.
In short, I gather UK's Ofcom is threatening a US web site for online content that is lawful within the US's jurisdiction and unlawful in the UK as it contravenes the UK's Online Safety Act.
I am bewildered that Preston Byrne has even bothered to acknowledge Ofcom's correspondence let alone respond to it as the UK (Ofcom) has no jurisdiction over actions of any entity or person within the continental US—or for that matter the actions of those outside its borders unless, say, covered by treaty, etc.
That Preston Byrne responded to Ofcom seems strange given the fact that he is not only a lawyer but also head of legal and compliance at Arkham law firm, thus he ought to be aware that is client is shielded from UK law by virtue that the UK has no jurisdiction on US territory.
If I'd been Byrne I'd not have even acknowledged Ofcom's correspondence with a 'fuck off/cease and desist' reply but filed it in the trash can. (If there's some mitigating matter I've missed here let me know.)
It's clear to me the the UK's Online Safety Act stops at its borders so the UK has full responsibility for blocking websites that are physically outside its jurisdiction, similarly blocking or stopping its citizens from accessing accessing them.
It seems to me many of the younger internet fraternity are unaware that there's longstanding precedent for how such matters are handled. Back in the days of the Cold War before the internet some countries used to broadcast propaganda on HF/shortwave radio bands to those that were their political enemies and recipient countries would attempt to jam the broadcasts so their citizens would not be able to listen to them. For example, Communist USSR, China etc. would jam the BBC or the US's VOA (Voice of America).
Simply, if a country did not want its citizens to listen to the broadcasts of another country it was its responsibility to jam the incoming signals. It seems to me all that has actually changed since then is that nowady the unwanted broadcasts come via internet circuits.
Frankly, Ofcom has an unmitigated hide to threaten people who are acting lawfully within the US. That said, it's not unexpected, in recent decades the UK's been acting like a petulant bully, it seems to have forgotten that without it's empire it can no longer enforce its bullyboy tactics.
BTW, the matter of what content is or is not acceptable online is completely separate issue from Ofcom's behavior. Personally, from what I've gathered I'd find content on the SaSu website unacceptable and I can understand why many in the UK want it blocked but bypassing another country's sovereign authority is not the correct way to go about it.