[Foundation-l] Let me ask this a third time WAS: EDP: US servers loophole?

Thu Apr 12 05:09:18 UTC 2007

Erik Moeller wrote:

> On 4/11/07, Jussi-Ville Heiskanen <cimonavaro at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I think some people may miss where the essential difference between
>> taking a stand against oppresive laws and obeying culturally distinct
>> legal practises arises, and you might perhaps clarify it slightly.
>
> In essence, deliberately violating the laws and standards of a
> particular jurisdiction is a very consequential decision and needs to
> be considered carefully on all levels of organization and community.
> The default is: OBEY

I would phrase it even more carefully. We do not deliberately violate 
the laws of any jurisdiction, or encourage anyone to violate laws to 
which they are subject. However, the Wikimedia Foundation cannot 
simultaneously be subject to the laws of all jurisdictions, particularly 
as some of these conflict with each other. Accordingly, it is sometimes 
necessary to operate without regard to some laws for some jurisdictions, 
but even then we do not deliberately seek to violate the law.

--Michael Snow