'Today' considers data retention and IMP

[Ian G Batten]

On Sat, January 10, 2009 10:32, Florian Weimer wrote:
> * Ian Batten:
>
>
>> I'm sure that CompanyX (UK) Ltd would be pleased to help.  It's just
>> unfortunate that the data is held by CompanyX (US) Inc.
>
> CompanyX's UK competitors might sue CompanyX (UK) because CompanyX
> gains an unfair competitive edge using this trick (even if it is, in
> itself, legal, which I strongly doubt).
>
>

I don't see why it shouldn't be legal.  If I buy a book from Amazon US, I
don't have any legal redress against Amazon UK.   If Amazon US offer a
book for sale, and (critically) Amazon UK don't, I can't drag Amazon UK
into a libel action.   I don't know the innards of Google's mail service,
but I'd be perfectly willing to believe that the TCP connection to
gmail.com from my house would go straight to the LINX and thence to the
US.

Now Google UK may well wish to respond to requests from law enforcement
that ignore this distinction, because they're good citizens.  But from an
enforcement perspective, if the data isn't within the UK police's
jurisdiction, what can they do to _force_ its production?

And `unfair competition' usually only figures in regulated, monopoly or
other special market cases.  Unless you believe that a car manufacturer
with a plant in the UK can sue people who build cars in Poland.

ian