Context: https://literature.cafe/post/987996
this post was submitted on 27 Aug 2023
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I would love to have the EFF chime in, but there are some protections for you as a host under the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA) - or safe harbor provision in the USA.
As to how that has been tested legally on federated content, I don't know. Perhaps another elder of the internet can tell me how Usenet servers handle it.
You are right, there is safe harbor protections here. It's a legal mess that must be navigated carefully. We will see how things progress.
While correct, you still may end up having to deal with the law about it. The whole "you can't beat the ride" thing. Could be a ton of hassle and legal fees.
What are you implying here? That @gabe should never have bothered with running a server? What about the server you are connected to right now? Should they shut down because of what may travel across it?
No.
They're protected under the same rules as somebody running a WiFi hotspot at a coffee shop. As long as they are doing everything within reason to be a good steward of their local network (which is what Gabe is doing) then they are protected.
Doesn't seem like he was implying anything. Just stating the fact that part of the burden of citizenship is sometimes having to interact with law enforcement, maybe even go to trial, even if you've done nothing wrong.
Pretty eloquent way of saying what I was trying to express. Thanks
I'm not suggesting anyone should or shouldn't do anything, nor that I'm not grateful for people that do. Just saying it's a potential downside that people should seriously consider before hosting any public access systems.
Hopefully, yeah. But again, there's still this potential of the coffee shop of having all their equipment seized and having to deal with a law enforcement investigation and maybe even the courts. Even if the risk of actual jail time and monetary penalties is low, it's something people should consider before doing it.
This is one of the reasons I'm not running a public access network or TOR exit node at home even if I think those are worthwhile things to do.
FYI not all jurisdictions deal with website hosting (storage and distribution) as equivalent to hotspot/ internet services (dumb relay)