Belgium Fines Yahoo For Protecting User Privacy On Its US Servers
from the this-is-bad... dept
For many years, we've discussed the many challenges faced by countries in trying to recognize that "jurisdiction" on the internet isn't what they probably think it is. Many countries want to interpret internet jurisdiction as "if it's accessible here via the internet, it's covered by our laws." But it doesn't take much scenario planning to recognizing what a disaster would result from such an interpretation. Effectively that means that the most restrictive legislation anywhere in the world (think: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc.) would apply everywhere else.That's why it's quite worrisome to find out that Belgium is trying to fine Yahoo for protecting its users' privacy and refusing to hand over user data to Belgian officials. Yahoo noted, accurately, that it does not have any operation in Belgium, and the data in question was held on US servers, not subject to Belgian law. On top of that, the US and Belgium have a good diplomatic relationship, such that such a data request could have gone through established diplomatic channels to make sure that US laws were properly obeyed as well. But, instead, Belgian officials just demanded the info from Yahoo's US headquarters directly, and then took the company to criminal court where the judge issued the fine. The Center for Democracy & Technology highlights the problems of not pushing back against this ruling:
The implications of this ruling are profound and far-reaching. Following the court's logic would subject user data associated with any service generally available online to the jurisdiction of all countries. It would also subject all companies that offer services generally available on the global Internet to the laws of all jurisdictions, potentially exposing individual employees to a variety of criminal sanctions.CDT suggests the US government should get involved and protest the Belgian court ruling:
The U.S. government should be paying close attention here: To understand how problematic this ruling is, we need only imagine how the governments of China, Iran, Vietnam or other repressive regime of your choice may decide that the precedent set here is one well worth following. Such actions undermine Belgium's moral authority since, after all, it would only be hypocritical for Western democracies to criticize such radically overbroad assertions of jurisdiction by other nations.
In the present case, Yahoo! has done right by its users. The company asked law enforcement officials to follow established diplomatic and legal processes in order to gain access to user information. It also enlisted the support of its home government to facilitate the process. In return, Belgian authorities have flouted an existing MLAT agreement, slapped Yahoo! with a fine, and set a dangerous precedent that potentially imperils the privacy of all Internet users and invites abuse by bad actors.
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Filed Under: belgium, jurisdiction, liability
Companies: yahoo
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Where Yahoo! hasn't got a presence there, I would of given them the finger too. Heck, I think Yahoo! has gone above and beyond already by noting the US government that such a request by the Belgiums might be underway.
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Re:
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The current state of affairs...
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Unenforceable
If that's the case, then they should just ignore the fine. If the company has no presence in Belgium, there's nothing the country can do to collect the fine. What are they gonna do? Come over here and arrest the CEO? Try that and the Belgian officials would be arrested themselves for kidnapping.
I know if I was a US citizen just going about my business in the US and I got a notice of fine from Belgium for something I said on the internet that violates Belgian law, I'd crumple it up and toss it. It's completely unenforceable.
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Re: Unenforceable
Are you crazy? Be careful what you do with that notice! The Belgiums are everywhere!
See, even conspiracy theorists can make fun of themselves :)
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Belgium
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Dutch source here: http://www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/archief/2.1222/oostvlaanderen/1.481382
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Re: Unenforceable
And it was the USA that started that messy precedent during the whole internet gambling ban by grabbing execs from gambling companies while they transferring flights on US soil
Extra: Even worse for UK citizen's, due to the Gov stupidly if you break US law while in the UK you can get extradited with no legal recourse
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There, fixed that for you.
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Re: The current state of affairs...
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Re: Unenforceable
I'd laugh my ass off and frame the f#cker. "I got noticed by Belgium for my nonsense!" I'd tell everyone who looked at the framed copy hanging on my wall.
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Any government is, by definition, a heartless and mindless organism that should be naturally mistrusted.
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If they wanted the information
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So, in this instance a US company with no links to Belgium and US data should be under US laws. The law in Belgium shouldn't be applied to Yahoo just because someone in Belgium accessed a yahoo site. Agree with that.
But then how about the NPG case - a UK entity with (as far as I know) no outlet in the US, and UK data ... but somehow people are arguing that just because the pictures on their website are available in the US they come under US copyright laws?
Sounds to me like it's not just countries coming up with odd conclusions on jurisdiction?
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Intresting
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EU ramifications?
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Re: Unenforceable
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Re: Re: Unenforceable
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Re: Re: Re: Unenforceable
Awesome return sarcasm, being serious. You just made one mistake. This is an overreactive international war, so Banking Conglomerates win, not fail.
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Re: Re: Re: Unenforceable
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Individuals already affected
However, this kind of "which laws are affecting what I do" has already got individuals. See for example the case of Hew Raymond Griffiths,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hew_Raymond_Griffiths
http://www.ibls.com/internet_law _news_portal_view.aspx?id=1778&s=latestnews
Griffiths was extradited to the U.S., a country he had never visited, for some "Intelectual Property" crimes.
For a company it is a mere money issue, but when individuals are extradited it becomes extremely problematic.
Stephan
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The "US data" of Yahoo in question was not published on a website and distributed internationally. And Yahoo wasn't refusing to give it to the Belgian authorities because they were claiming copyright on said data.
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Difference in jurisdiction
In case of criminal investigation, local police can ask for information cross border. In Europe, there is special legislation to pass information cross-border.
There is no such system in between Belgium and the US for criminal action. Everything has to go over interpol or by means of political pressure, embassies or direct contacts in between police systems.
This can upset local police and tresspass the borders of what they are authorized to do. In Belgium there are laws that authorize jurisdiction to tresspass all borders as soon as a person with links to Belgium is involved.
I guess both issues have been mixed here and this should really be left to lawyers.
And yes, Belgium can ask retaliation all over Europe against Yahoo, but they will have to convice the Polish and UK to do so as well.
And yes, Belgian companies are attacked all the time this way by US juridical systems. And yes the US has more local laws allowing to protect interests of US individuals and companies around the world.
In globo, if yahoo can be forced to hand over data about individuals to US juridical system, it should also be possible for other countries that are part of the WTO to ask the same. And this in all countries and in all directions.
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Re: Unenforceable
Second the US has clearly shown how to enforce stuff like that. E.g. arrest the officers of the company when they enter the US. In this case Yahoo officers and/or employees might get arrested when entering the Union.
Third, the US is also one of the countries that consider it okay to kidnap somebody abroad to try him at home.
(http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=KhRWVzZ8d4yPFH1nSBNBGB1Z1xsygKbHMCj2YTpw TJxFNWd3bTV5!342583392!-481857147?docId=5000479708)
)
Basically, this happens all the time, in the real economy (not just the Internet), and it's usually the USA that forces it's laws on the rest of the world. Though luck when it happens the other way.
(Examples the Cuba embargo has caused an Austrian bank that got acquired by an US fond to cancel accounts by Cubans. Which is punishable in the EU and in Austria. Hence the fund had to get an exception, or the bank would be continually fined. Or the UBS handling. Guess not many people in the US realize that handing over customer data like that has been a felony in Switzerland. Or how the US has forced SWIFT to hand over data clandestinely. And so on.)
yacc
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Re: Unenforceable
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Personal Indentifying Information
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ATIIL
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Re: Personal Indentifying Information
Privacy is privacy. If you don't protect the privacy of 'alleged' criminals before they've even been brought to trial, then you're simply not protecting privacy at all. You can't pick and choose.
If Belgium wants to protect its citizens, then it should work within the law: contact the US Government and obtain a subpoena for the information from Yahoo. If it ignores the proper channels, Yahoo has no recourse but to protect the rights of its users under US law, which states that it can't just randomly give out information just because someone asked for it. Not even the US Government gets that. It has to ask for it in a proper and legal way.
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Remind me...
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Re: If they wanted the information
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Re: Individuals already affected
Duh... You missed the point, which is that for lack of jurisdiction it does NOT affect any American company."
VRP
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Re: Personal Indentifying Information
Who are you calling criminals?
Those who haven't even been charged, let alone convicted of anything.
Seems like you belong in Belgium, or places worse...
Meanwhile, you'll be called a criminal. See how you like it.
VRP
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