Separate but Equal Countries?

So obviously there are some growing pains that Linden Lab is experiencing in being a global company...

...the challenges are different from an 'internet service provider' because LL is the sole owner of SL, it is not a globally-distributed neutral platform on which they host an area.

However...what if all sims were to register as part of the country of the sim owner? All mainland sims would be = to United States territory, governed by US law (as LL is based in California)...but private islands would be considered territories of the country in which the purchaser or business entity claims citizenship...

...then...when teleporting to sim x, you can read the signs, covenant, etc... "Warning, you are subject to Japanese law in this territory. It is your responsibility to know and abide by these laws. Failure to follow Japanese law can and will result in prosecution by Japanese authorities."

K...it's an awfully ridiculous sounding concept with ALL KINDS of legal troubles/issues...but is there really any other way to have a global community without a unified world government?

the way its always worked is whereever its hosted is the law

ll is in the US and therefore us law

or if i went off to a brittish system i would be held to brittish law

ect

Then what's with the German News story and LL obsession with being legal in all countries? I know that things have always worked -- in the past -- that laws of the server country are upheld...but it doesn't seem to be happening here. Here, it seems the laws of all countries are going to be upheld.

I'm very familiar with things such as gambling servers on the Isle of Man and whatnot...just seems we're in an altogether different situation here.

The content provider has to comply with the laws of their country (LL is based in the US so that means it has to comply with US law) and the laws of the country the servers are located in (again, the US).

Visitors comply with the laws of the country's nationality they hold (and additionally, the country of residence if it's different).

LL isn't subject to German law, however it does choose to offer a paid service to German citizens. If it's unwilling or flat out refuses to prevent German citizens from using its service to commit a crime (whether you agree it is or isn't is really besides the point) then some kind of sanction would probably follow.

Whether that's something Germany has to enforce within its borders, or whether it can legally force LL to stop providing access to German-based IP addies is something a lawyer would know, but either way LL isn't about to loose over 10% of its active resident population so it will work or feign to work with German officials as long as its in their own net interest.

The whole "subject to German law" is something that's been dreamed up on the forums based on speculation, none of us know what actually happened. Actual child porn is - I would hope - illegal over the entire world, and even if all those two residents did was engage in sexual ageplay and if they were German then they were using SL to commit a crime in their own country and it shouldn't be surprising LL kicked them out.

As far as banning sexual ageplay altogether goes, I think that's more of a business decision than anything else. LL might as well pull the grid if it were to try to defend the position of sexual ageplay in the media as consentual expression between adults, it would be suicide.

I think you are coreect. Sexual exploitation of children is a thing that gets such a visceral reaction from most people, that it would be hopeless to defend Ageplay in a Sociological Court, irregardless of the legality of it. What offends a lot of people I think, is the way Linden decided to finally deal with the issue. Many resident have been concerned about it for a while, and were pretty much ignored by The Providors. But slimy, sensationalized, possibly manufactured expose sends them scurrying. As far as benn mentioned, no Government agency has even become involved officially. What will the next Ratings Hungry "Journalist" decide will be a good push button topic?