US President Donald Trump said that he will file a lawsuit against the BBC, seeking damages ranging from $1 billion to $5 billion, "probably" sometime next week. This comes despite an apology from the BBC.
What I mean is, how/why can he sue a British company? Surely American laws don’t apply to British companies, otherwise they should comply with the laws of every other country or risk getting sued? We don’t expect the BBC to follow russian laws right? Is there some special agreement?
And conversely, how/why can he sue in British court if he is not a British subject?
Surely American laws don’t apply to British companies, otherwise they should comply with the laws of every other country or risk getting sued?
American laws do apply to British companies if they’re operating in America. That is in fact how international law works. If a company is operating in a particular country, they are subject to the laws of that particular country, inasmuch as their operations in that particular country are concerned.
And there’s a complex network of international treaties that I really don’t feel like looking up that gives various countries the right to enforce their legal judgments in various other countries.
Think about Elon Musk threatening to pull Twitter out of the entire EU because he doesn’t want to follow the EU’s laws banning Nazi propaganda. The EU can, in fact, ban Twitter from platforming fascists in the EUs, fine Twitter if they continue to platform fascists in the EU, and seize whatever Twitter assets they have access to in the EU in order to collect those fines. And Musk can’t do shit except take his ball and go home, because if his propaganda site operates in the EU it’s going to be subject to EU law.
Similarly, if the BBC is operating in the United States, it is, at least in theory, subject to United States law with respect to content it disseminates within the United States. Which means they can be sued, can be found liable, and can have their assets seized by the US government as far as the power of the US government reaches. Which is pretty damn far.
So, to go back to the question above, would he be suing the American branch of the BBC which is the US-operating segment (and I suspect doesn’t have billions of dollars) or trying to sue the BBC which doesn’t operate in America (leaving that to the US branch)?
Or would be be suing, for instance, whatever broadcast service performed the BBC broadcast in the States? (It doesn’t sound like this)
Trump could sue any or all of those parties. I wouldn’t try and guess which ones he’ll actually sue, especially since he’s most likely angling for a settlement/bribe and doesn’t care whether he can actually win in court.
What I mean is, how/why can he sue a British company? Surely American laws don’t apply to British companies, otherwise they should comply with the laws of every other country or risk getting sued? We don’t expect the BBC to follow russian laws right? Is there some special agreement?
And conversely, how/why can he sue in British court if he is not a British subject?
American laws do apply to British companies if they’re operating in America. That is in fact how international law works. If a company is operating in a particular country, they are subject to the laws of that particular country, inasmuch as their operations in that particular country are concerned.
And there’s a complex network of international treaties that I really don’t feel like looking up that gives various countries the right to enforce their legal judgments in various other countries.
Think about Elon Musk threatening to pull Twitter out of the entire EU because he doesn’t want to follow the EU’s laws banning Nazi propaganda. The EU can, in fact, ban Twitter from platforming fascists in the EUs, fine Twitter if they continue to platform fascists in the EU, and seize whatever Twitter assets they have access to in the EU in order to collect those fines. And Musk can’t do shit except take his ball and go home, because if his propaganda site operates in the EU it’s going to be subject to EU law.
Similarly, if the BBC is operating in the United States, it is, at least in theory, subject to United States law with respect to content it disseminates within the United States. Which means they can be sued, can be found liable, and can have their assets seized by the US government as far as the power of the US government reaches. Which is pretty damn far.
So, to go back to the question above, would he be suing the American branch of the BBC which is the US-operating segment (and I suspect doesn’t have billions of dollars) or trying to sue the BBC which doesn’t operate in America (leaving that to the US branch)?
Or would be be suing, for instance, whatever broadcast service performed the BBC broadcast in the States? (It doesn’t sound like this)
Trump could sue any or all of those parties. I wouldn’t try and guess which ones he’ll actually sue, especially since he’s most likely angling for a settlement/bribe and doesn’t care whether he can actually win in court.