Quote Originally Posted by pocoloco78 View Post
Chad, thanks for your detailed reply. What if an american enters a .nl / .de / .eu domain? I thought in that case, it's the surfer who "visits" Europe. Not the webmaster selling in the US.

Still, if foreign webmasters should obey to the US laws, than we also should follow the laws which were made in the Middle East or Far East.

Hope you can bring in some light on these matters as well.

Of course every WM should fight CP and abuse, however I am not sure if 2257 is the right way.
Regardless of the domain the surfer enters, the surfer is still receiving the product in the US, and it is that law that applies because that is where the product is actually being delivered--to the surfer who is physically within US borders. So, the surfer does not actually "visit" any other country while sitting in his bedroom at the trailer park in Tennessee, and the product is delivered into the United States. Imagine if a host in Amsterdam could somehow electronically "deliver" a joint to a surfer in Detroit! The product at the shipping point is legal, but at the destination where it is actually consumed it is illegal. There are jurisdictions where sexually explicit images of 17 year olds are legal, but when those images are delivered to a US postal inspector arrest warrants get issued.

As far as following Middle East laws, you must comply with those laws if you are selling in those countries. You won't get surfers who are buying your product in Saudi Arabia because of the national filters however!! Saudi Arabia prohibits pornography and has set up a virtual Port Authority that stops incoming shipments. There are no such "inspection points" for content coming into the US -- luckily.

Enforcement of 2257 against non-US residents is unlikely, however. A non-US webmaster will be under significantly more pressure from private parties, such as his billing company, host, and affiliated websites, to comply with the law as many companies will refuse to deal with anyone, even non-US, that refuses to at least make an attempt to comply with that law.

Personally, I believe 2257 is very ill-conceived by people who do not understand how production and distribution of legal adult pornography works. 2257 does nothing to prevent children from sexual exploitation, and it drains resources that could otherwise be used in actually curbing underage porn. It provides no assistance to producers to verify ID's. I would love to completely re-write the law. Actually, I just need to be appointed President for the next 2 years. Or Dictator. It would be easier to get things accomplished as a Dictator than President.
I would make DonMike my Secretary of Sex Education. :whip: