From: Dale Thorn <dthorn@gte.net>
Date: Sat, 4 Jan 1997 19:23:54 -0800 (PST)
To: Ian Goldberg <iang@cs.berkeley.edu>
Subject: Re: New rules for Internet sales to CA buyers
In-Reply-To: <3.0.32.19970102144026.0069bc00@mail.io.com>
Message-ID: <32CF1E65.AD7@gte.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


Ian Goldberg wrote:
> In article <3.0.32.19970102144026.0069bc00@mail.io.com>,
> Greg Broiles  <gbroiles@netbox.com> wrote:
> >The following subsection of California Business & Professions Code section
> >17538 took effect 1/1/97 and may be of interest to people following state
> >attempts to regulate net sales:
> >   (d) A vendor conducting business through the Internet or any other
> >electronic means of communication shall do  all of the following
> >when the transaction involves a buyer located in California:

> So is this saying that a merchant _anywhere in the world_ can be prosecuted
> under California law if someone in California goes to their web page,
> and the web page doesn't satisfy the requirements (which I snipped)?
> How is a merchant in, say, Finland, supposed to know that this law (or others
> like it in any city, state, or country in the world) exists?

It's all rather academic, my dear Ian.  Just as the Atom bomb made the
United Nations mandatory, and large-scale war impossible for the U.S.,
the Internet will be the thing that facilitates ushering in one-world
government.  When Bill Gates and friends put up those 800-plus satellites
to beam the "news, entertainment, and important events" all over the world
to everyone's TV set, the circle will be complete.