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Utah first state to hold websites liable for users who mask their location with VPNs — law goes into effect, designed to prevent bypassing age checks (www.tomshardware.com)
submitted 6 months ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] 1 point 6 months ago (4 children)

Utah can charge me with whatever the fuck they want. If I’m not in Utah or doing business with Utah and ignore them what are they doing to do about it?

If you live in the US then the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which is enforced with under 28 U.S.C. § 1738, requires that all states recognize and enforce valid final judgements from sister states.

If Utah sues you for violating this law you could show up to court to contest the case or they would win a default judgement.

After the State had a judgement they could seek a writ of execution or writ of garnishment to seize your wages or put liens on your properties.

If you don't live in the US, and don't plan to ever work or own property in the US then you're functionally immune to such judgements.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago (3 children)

    So the US continues to encourage businesses to operate elsewhere. Tired of winning yet?

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago (2 children)

    So the US continues to encourage businesses to operate elsewhere. Tired of winning yet?

    That argument only works if there are significant markets where a country could choose to operate that wouldn't impose the same verification restrictions.

    As of today a large amount of countries, representing around 4.5 billion people including the largest economies in the world are pushing for some sort of age verification requirement.

    You could choose to operate outside of these countries but you would only find a small, and poor, market. The countries pushing for this kind of identity verification account for the majority of the world's GDP.

    So, as it stands, unless you want to operate an e-commerce business serving Gabon and Congo, you would probably be forced to comply with a law similar to the one in Utah.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago (1 child)

    As of today a large amount of countries, representing around 4.5 billion people including the largest economies in the world are pushing for some sort of age verification requirement.

    But that does not mean they are also pushing laws that hold the website responsible if someone connects through a VPN.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago

    The fact that a VPN can violate these laws is a well-known issue and it is being attacked from various angles depending on the country.

    They may not all be using a liability trap like Utah but it isn't as if the rest of the world are passing similar age verification laws and accepting that anybody who can download and install a VPN can ignore the law.

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