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Comment by ranger_danger | Hacker News Reader

Why do they think that organizations who operate completely outside of the UK, accept no money from UK citizens or otherwise do business there, fall within their jurisdiction? I think realistically all that could happen is they tell ISPs to block it.

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They do accept money from UK citizens, you can buy a 4chan pass to skip the captcha. I've done so in the past.

What are they gonna do, stop UK citizens from spending money how they want? Or will they try to invade the US again? Lol

I don't think crypto housed outside the UK counts, but I could be wrong. But it's not like there is a UK arm of the company they can even sue.

A bagel shop in Manhattan also accepts money from UK citizens, but that doesn't mean it's subject to UK law.

If that bagel shop will ship bagels to UK soil or accepting money from UK citizens who are currently in UK as 4chan does, it will be subject to UK laws regardless of whether it has legal presence, assets etc. This is not matter of jurisdiction as some of commenters here believe.

UK has limited enforcement options, of course, but it’s their sovereign right to prevent illegal activities and/or punish for them within their capabilities. This is why 4chan lawyers are asking for political response as if UK were a rogue American colony.

> they tell ISPs to block it

Seems likely. And then that won't work, and they'll tell ISPs to block VPN traffic too.

I wouldn't put it past them, they've already ran tv news pieces (or maybe it was an ad, I don't watch tv, let alone British tv) basically saying that if you use a VPN, that you're not thinking of the children.

You wouldn’t steal a car…

ISPs blocking it will mostly work, I think. Most people can't be bothered with a VPN so if 4chan is inaccessible they'll just read/watch something else instead.

In the days following the enforcement of age verification legislation, VPNs were trending in the UK app store charts, above age verification apps.

Even today NordVPN is in the #5 spot, above Uber and Google.

I think you severely underestimate the tech savviness and community-seeking of 4chan users. They'll figure it out.

I think you can't post on 4chan if you're using a VPN.

you can if you buy a 4chan pass with crypto

That will make blocking it fairly effective, at least if 4chan's demographic is as I remember it to be (teenagers etc).

they were teenagers in 2018. now they're 30-somethings with enough disposable income and basic technical skills to download a PIA or NordVPN app to their phone.

Elon needs to release Starlink Freedom Edition. He should've bought 4chan rather than Twitter too lol.

Maybe they will say British citizens use it in foreign countries as their loophole. I don’t agree with it and I’m not a lawyer but I’m just predicting their argument.

Sounds like the same argument that Russia uses to invades its neighbors. "There's Russians there, therefore..."

Okay, but that's still not 4chan's problem. A company with no nexus in the UK has no reason to care about UK law in any way, shape, or form.

According to their Advertise page, UK is 7% of their audience. Their reaction looks like they care.

They might care about lost advertising dollars, but the UK has no jurisdiction and judgements contrary to the constitution will not be recognized by US courts.

Their reaction puts on record the constitutional/legal barriers, preserves strategic optionality, and possibly preempts escalation that could still cause real headaches. It's strategic, not a sign that they actually think the UK has a case.

> or otherwise do business

If they can be used in the UK, then the same general principle applies here as with pirate radio and over-the-horizon artillery.

The attempt is unlikely to work, but with Trump who knows, so they will probably indeed tell ISPs to block it.

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