Do you view allowing any arbitrary IP address to access your site as “offering service” to all countries? Or,
Do you view having a website as just putting something into cyberspace and it’s the responsibility of countries to control access to it if they don’t want their citizens going there.
Personally, I’m a firm believer that IP addresses aren’t people and that an IP address range doesn’t mean the end user is from that country, so I lean towards point 2.
…buuuuuut I also really don’t like the idea that countries control access to things like that. I’m sort of in a “wish I could have it both ways” thing. Because the more sites that are adamant about taking view number 2 the more countries will be encouraged to censor. And let’s be honest, this is all about control, there are sensible ways to protect children like creating standardized self labels for parental controls to reject and find on those instead, so… It’s hard.
I felt this way back in the late 90s when states started requiring sales tax for online transactions. It felt stupid to me that a transaction that occurs in some other state should have to include taxes for the place where you live.
I guess this is what it comes down to…
Personally, I’m a firm believer that IP addresses aren’t people and that an IP address range doesn’t mean the end user is from that country, so I lean towards point 2.
…buuuuuut I also really don’t like the idea that countries control access to things like that. I’m sort of in a “wish I could have it both ways” thing. Because the more sites that are adamant about taking view number 2 the more countries will be encouraged to censor. And let’s be honest, this is all about control, there are sensible ways to protect children like creating standardized self labels for parental controls to reject and find on those instead, so… It’s hard.
I hate this.
I felt this way back in the late 90s when states started requiring sales tax for online transactions. It felt stupid to me that a transaction that occurs in some other state should have to include taxes for the place where you live.