Eugen RochkoJul 13
Please report any account that tells you that you need to verify your #Mastodon account to continue using it through a private message. It is a scam. We do not require identity verification. Real staff accounts either have a special role badge on their profile or are verified through the joinmastodon.org domain and will typically never reach out through private messages.
Show threadLinux Is BestJul 13

@Gargron

I want to step in and point out that there’s a lot of misinformation circulating.

Some people have been incorrectly claiming that if one country passes a certain law, then everyone — everywhere — must comply with it.

That’s not how jurisdiction works.

You’re responsible for following the laws of your own country. Your government can’t impose its laws on the entire world, and neither can any other government.

For example, if Russia suddenly requires that anyone signing up for a website must pay $5 and submit a DNA sample — but your site, and you are based in France — you’re under no obligation to comply. Russia can make whatever demands it wants, but you’re not Russian, and it’s not your responsibility to enforce their laws.

Show threadMastodon MigrationJul 13

@Linux

What is particularly troubling about #Bluesky is their aggressive policy of obeying in advance all laws from any jurisdiction. They banned Turkish dissidents under this rationale, and are now preemptively doing UK ID verification. It makes one think these reasons are pretextual, or at the very least cowardly.

Show threadLinux Is BestJul 13

@mastodonmigration

Blue Sky is a corporation trying to please its shareholders.

I also don’t know where Blue Sky’s offices are. If they’re registered in a particular country, then they’re subject to that country’s jurisdiction.

But if you're running a forum or a Fediverse site, and neither you nor your server is located there, you can tell them to go to hell — because it’s not your problem.

Show threadMastodon MigrationJul 13

@Linux

All valid points. And that is sort of the whole point. Bluesky, as a US corporation without apparently very deep pockets has got to be afraid of their legal exposure if only due to the potential cost of litigation. So, they are not well situated to protect their user's privacy rights.

Show threadLinux Is BestJul 13

@mastodonmigration

I’ve supposedly violated the laws of several countries in the past when I ran a forum community. I was allegedly summoned, sued, and even "lost" cases simply because I didn’t acknowledge them or show up. But I couldn’t care less then, and I still don’t — because it was all political theater. I wasn’t a citizen of those countries.

Back in the day, my forum had over 20 million users. I focused solely on following the laws of my own country — not the laws of every country on the planet.

Show threadvandorb12Jul 13
@Linux @mastodonmigration this reminds me when The Bay named and shamed US companies when they set them letters.
Fantastic work.
Show threadLinux Is BestJul 13

@vandorb12 @mastodonmigration

Arguably, The Pirate Bay was violating international copyright law — not just the laws of a single nation.

Everyone who has challenged my comment keeps citing extreme cases as examples. But that’s exactly the issue: those are extreme circumstances — just like The Pirate Bay itself.

If you’re reckless enough to violate global, internationally recognized laws, then yes, that’s a problem. But you are not obligated to recognize the laws of every country on Earth, nor can any one nation claim the right to make laws for the entire planet.

Show threadvandorb12
@Linux @mastodonmigration dude, there's no such thing as INTERNATIONAL LAW. We have international treaties that facilitate agreements between States. Those treaties are the only reason why extradition for crimes commited outside of the prosecuting State can exist.
If we had international law, then we would need international representation and international taxation.
Last I recall, I never had to pay a percentage of my wages to any international body.
Jul 13 at 3:37pmWeb
Show threadLinux Is BestJul 13

@vandorb12 @mastodonmigration

You're right in the strictest sense — there's no single global government enforcing a unified “international law.” What I meant (and should have phrased better) is internationally coordinated legal norms — the kind of standards that are upheld across multiple jurisdictions via treaties, conventions, or reciprocal enforcement agreements.

Copyright enforcement, extradition, anti-money laundering — these all fall under that umbrella. Not because there's a global legislature, but because there's broad state-level consensus and mechanisms for enforcement across borders.

But here's the real point I was making: just because a country passes a law doesn't mean it applies to the entire world. UK law applies in the UK. A platform or individual with no UK presence, business entity, or infrastructure is under no obligation to comply with UK-specific rules — like ID verification — unless they're actively targeting or operating in the UK.

No country has unlimited legal reach. That's why we have jurisdiction. Otherwise, every website on Earth would need to comply with every contradictory law from every country on Earth — which is obviously unworkable.

So yeah, there's no global court or global tax — and that's exactly why no single country gets to unilaterally decide what the world must do.

Show threadDr. Eric J. Fielding, PhDJul 13
@Linux @vandorb12 @mastodonmigration Russia is trying to implement a law that mobile phones sold in Russia must have the Russian App Store preinstalled and allow users to install apps from the RU-store. This is different because it involves a sale of a physical device inside the Russian territory. Apple may decide to stop selling iPhones in Russia if they require this.
Show threadMastodon MigrationJul 13

@vandorb12 @Linux

If you read the post you are replying to then you would see that this is precisely the point Linux is making. Using a 'dude' is not really constructive conversation, particularly when you have misunderstood the thread.