Re[2]: [ga] Mr. Qaddafi Salutes Verisign

[William X Walsh <william@wxsoft.info>]

Saturday, Saturday, November 17, 2001, 3:21:01 PM, Sandy Harris wrote:

> John Berryhill wrote:

>> Look, it's very simple.  Companies in the US must obey the law.  When the
>> law says that it is illegal to do business with certain entities or with any
>> entities in certain countries, then US companies must cease to do such
>> business.  There really should be nothing earth-shattering about that.

> Yes, that much of it is simple. Dealing with it simple, too. If you think
> Verisign or some other US company are breaking the law, then you should
> bring the matter to someone's attention. The only question is whether to
> call the company first or just turn them in. 

> However, there are a bunch of complications.

> For one thing, some of the anti-terrorism laws might eventually be ruled
> unconstitutional in the US. Certainly organisations like the ACLU are
> asking some hard questions:

These are not anti-terrorism laws, they are existing, and
longstanding, laws dealing with economic embargoes.


> Should we block, for example, www.rawa.net, the Revolutionary Assoc
> of Women of Afghanistan?

I think you mean rawa.org  :)  I get a LOT of misdirected email
intended for them at my raw.org domain.

> Should we block Cuba, since the US embargo them? Canada has never
> joined that embargo, nor has most of Europe.

Realistically, ICANN is required to follow US Law, like it or not,
unless it is granted a specific legal exemption, which would require
passage of new laws.

> Then there's the whole question of the international nature of the net,
> and ICANN's mission to run the thing in the interests of its users
> worldwide. ICANN is a California corporation, hence obviously subject
> to US law. What happens when the mission and US law conflict?

The law MUST win, unless and until it is granted exemptions by new
laws from those existing laws.


-- 
Best regards,
William X Walsh <william@wxsoft.info>
--
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