steven n fettig's Jitterin' Thoughts

Yes, this blog entry is old... I was in the car with my wife last week and wrote this... I forgot I had saved it. My ego tells me to publish it, though.

    The Australian case involving alleged Wall Street Journal defamation has had me thinking for the past few days. I have been trying to read the articles that explain the reasoning behind the Australian High Court's judgement that a United States company, namely Dow Jones Publications, can be held responsible for laws under which that corporation or busines does not operate. At first glance I didn't know whether to disagree or agree with the question of jurisdiction. After further reading (and the realization that the content in question was not available to the general public, only paid subscribers) I realized the ridiculousness of this case: read - this case is worthy of ridicule. How can any court justify jurisdiction being taken over content that was published in another country? If the Australian Supreme Court wants to validate their juristiction over content available in Australia, then the onus is really on the Australian government to censor information coming into their country (via the internet or any other medium of publication) because it is illogical to hold someone responsible for an act which is not illegal in the country in which it is committed. Imagine me publishing data on the internet about a Chinese government leader that was illegal in China. Published in the US, the publishing of publicly known facts is not against any law - but it may be against the law to say anything of anyone in China without their approval. Does this mean that because I published it on the internet that I am liable for knowing all laws in all countries? Of course not - that would be the oposite of jurisprudence - for I would be liable for any crimes that I did not know were crimes.
    I think that the Australian judicial system is making a mockery of jurisdiction proceedings by deeming material available on the internet part of their jurisdiction - even if published and stored outside of their country.