cross-posted from: https://programming.dev/post/35889767
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BYRNE & STORM, P.C.
ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW
Re: Statement Regarding Ofcom’s Reported Provisional Notice - 4chan Community Support LLC
Byrne & Storm, P.C. ( @ByrneStorm ) and Coleman Law, P.C. ( @RonColeman ) represent 4chan Community Support LLC (“4chan”).
According to press reports, the U.K. Office of Communications (“Ofcom”) has issued a provisional notice under the Online Safety Act alleging a contravention by 4chan and indicating an intention to impose a penalty of £20,000, plus daily penalties thereafter.
4chan is a United States company, incorporated in Delaware, with no establishment, assets, or operations in the United Kingdom. Any attempt to impose or enforce a penalty against 4chan will be resisted in U.S. federal court.
American businesses do not surrender their First Amendment rights because a foreign bureaucrat sends them an e-mail. Under settled principles of U.S. law, American courts will not enforce foreign penal fines or censorship codes.
If necessary, we will seek appropriate relief in U.S. federal court to confirm these principles.
United States federal authorities have been briefed on this matter.
The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, was reportedly warned by the White House to cease targeting Americans with U.K. censorship codes (according to reporting in the Telegraph on July 30th).
Despite these warnings, Ofcom continues its illegal campaign of harassment against American technology firms. A political solution to this matter is urgently required and that solution must come from the highest levels of American government.
We call on the Trump Administration to invoke all diplomatic and legal levers available to the United States to protect American companies from extraterritorial censorship mandates.
Our client reserves all rights.
I can’t believe I’m agreeing with 4chan INC (or whatever the company is called). This whole situation is a mess. So many jurisdictions want to force age verification. I am a from believer that pushing laws to force “adult” content sites to have a standardized set of tags that parental controls can block will be way better. More beneficial to actually concerned parents (not fear mongering adults), safer for visitors to these sites by not forcing them to send their ID to a place that may mishandle it, safer for everyone by not making it normal to submit your ID to websites (think of the phishing opportunities), and more convenient for everyone.
I mean, for fuck’s sake, a woman got arrested in Georgia for leaving the house while her child was playing outside. We expect parents to know where their children are every moment of every day but just throw our hands up and say “there’s nothing I can do” when it comes to the net? It should be parents’ responsibility to block such content, and requiring standardized tags across jurisdictions would make this easier.
Maybe don’t let minors get full, unblocked access to the Internet.
kids are just handy excuse that appeals to the masses. Getting more control over people is the goal.