Found this on Slashdot, and it brings up something I have wondered for a long time.

What laws applie to the internet? Japan has divverent laws then the US, and we have different laws then Iran. not only that but there are also state and local laws to take into account.

While there are some constants (murder and theft are illegal pretty much everywhere, to verying degrees) some things that are illegal here are perfectly legal in other contries. Some things, such as drinking age, may be different here in Redwood then it is in L.A.

So what rules apply to the internt? Something like Microsoft's website are probobly covered under US law since the corporate office and servers are all (or mostly) in the US, but what about something like Blogger (which is the sorse of the problem) has content created and maintained by people all over the planet.

What laws govern content on sites like Blogger? Google, which owns Blogger, is based in the US, but do US laws apply to stuff created by a person in Spain, or do the laws there apply?

This is just one of the questions that have to be answered as the Internet becomes gains more and more power.