Because 'online' is the entire planet, including sellers in foreign countries. Would you like to have "digital borders" between countries, where data has to show some sort of passport to cross the border?

Again, if I want to import pron from Japan I need to not only prove I'm 18 to the border censors but make sure the pron is legal locally.

Plenty of people have been arrested for importing things legal in Japan that are illegal in the West.

Plenty of countries have laws on the books that make it a felony to even look at what's on the average Japanese store bookshelf while you're in Japan.

Why should the laws be different just because you're moving electrons instead of atoms?

They shouldn't, of course. Those existing regulations that you're referencing are equally bad for all the same reasons, and we should get rid of them.

I mean if the alternative is complete lawlessness, then I suppose I do want digital borders. AMA.

This ruling kind of assumes the opposite in some ways, that the strictest law anywhere applies everywhere. It's not digital borders, it's no borders but where the most draconian authoritarian law supercedes everything.

How does it do that? It doesn't seem to mandate age verification when a user from Poland access a server in France. Only when one of the parties (either user or hoster) is within the jurisdiction.

How old are you?

Challenge accepted

The Federal harmful-to-minors laws don’t mandate you check IDs. Only some state laws do. You’re better off asking, “why would buying a magazine here in Michigan have anything to do with Rhode Island statutes?”

I don't even disagree with the spirit of what is being attempted here but it is ultimately pointless.

You aren't going to stop teenagers from watching porn if you have the internet.

All this would do is change the websites that teenagers are using.

It strikes me as just political grandstanding since the people putting forth this idea must know it is completely pointless.

Not to mention, a website is vastly different than a physical store.