Should Internet companies based outside the UK abide by UK Laws if they offer a service in the UK?
In light of the story regarding Google and it saying that it does not have to abide by UK Privacy Laws because it is based in the US, do you think that they and all the other firms which trade with UK residents or offer services to UK residents should abide with UK Laws?
Should they be limited to one aspect (i.e. Tax, privacy, consumer rights) or all relevant laws?
If a firm such as Google decides to ignore the law, what should happen by way of punishment?
The potential fine for breaching the Data Protection Act is £500,000. This is put at less than 0.002% of Google's annual turnover. One alternative would be to block access to any and all their services. This would cause a huge disruption to the UK as it would mean the end of Android Smart phones & tablets, YouTube, gmail and also blocking access to their cloud servers (Google Drive).
In light of the story regarding Google and it saying that it does not have to abide by UK Privacy Laws because it is based in the US, do you think that they and all the other firms which trade with UK residents or offer services to UK residents should abide with UK Laws?
Should they be limited to one aspect (i.e. Tax, privacy, consumer rights) or all relevant laws?
If a firm such as Google decides to ignore the law, what should happen by way of punishment?
The potential fine for breaching the Data Protection Act is £500,000. This is put at less than 0.002% of Google's annual turnover. One alternative would be to block access to any and all their services. This would cause a huge disruption to the UK as it would mean the end of Android Smart phones & tablets, YouTube, gmail and also blocking access to their cloud servers (Google Drive).