this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2023
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So, what exactly happens if Facebook just says "no" to paying the fine?
In most places companies become blocked from operating in the country, and any potential assets in the country will be taken as compensation.
There might also be a lawsuit in the companies main country of operation.
That's something I never really understood. Like, someone can get in trouble for violating the laws of a country they aren't even a resident in.
I get blocking them, or seizing local assets, but international lawsuits? How does that even work? How do other countries have legal authority or legal presence in other countries?
Is it through some diplomatic agreement/treaty between countries similar to how extradition works?
IANAL, but, usually through operation legalities. In order to operate in a country, businesses usually have to have licenses in that country and follow the rules like any other local business. If they fail to follow, their licenses can be revoked. A country the size of Norway might risk losing the service since the population of the country is smaller than some larger US cities.
But it's a website. It can be accessed by anyone with internet access. Just because my web service is public facing shouldn't mean that I have to comply with with laws from every country/planet my application is accessible from. That's just my ignorant thinking anyway.
If I'm obeying my local laws while operating my service, then some other country shouldn't be able to sue me in my own country. Unless there are local USA laws stating that I have to comply with laws from all of these countries that we have treaties with.
I hope it makes sense.
That's fine, they just can block you from doing business there. They don't like taking that approach, so they would prefer to prod behavior with fines over losing an internet service. They have no realistic way of recouping fines. Depending on the country and how the organization is setup, they can lean on cooperation agreements, like I am sure the EU must have agreements.
Depending on what the country that issued the fine wants to do, what the actual problem is, and where the company operates from, it might involve breach of ICC regulations or even country-to-country agreements for business operations.
Since Norway is a part of the EEA(the European Economic Area) it might also involve blocking them from operating in member countries, which would then potentially get the EU participating as well.