this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2025
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Probably a dumb question, but if the website servers aren't physically located in Florida, why must the websites follow Florida law?
State prosecution argues if there's access in Florida, the site must follow their laws. These sites need to georestrict access and should have done it the day law went into effect.
This is like me saying I have a bucket of books that are illegal in your state but legal in mine. You come to my state and take the books back to yours. Who broke the law?
Good luck trying to find any rational in these legislations, there is none. I can still search for "sexy naked sex" and get thousands of explict image results from google in FL. The laws are not protecting kids, but they are embarrassing legal aged adults and putting sites and creators that previously tried to cooperate out of business.
Edit - hell, the fact reddit and X are somehow exempt should say everything. Sites that kids would visit for totally non-explicit purposes and end up exposed to top trending titties.
SPEZ loves musk, so that makes sense.
Easier to target the few dozen major sources than the millions of users for now. But I agree wholeheartedly with the premise. They're not setting up a shop in Florida. They're in entirely different places around the world and Floridians are virtually knocking on their door and taking their digital packages with them back to Florida. Why would the onus be on the server to police the laws local to each client?
Well that’s a really bad example you gave because gun laws explicitly cover that exact case federally. This is more like book banning. Books are banned in your state, not mine, you come and buy them here and take them back there.
Or fireworks. Many states have laws against selling fireworks to state residents, but all you need to do is cross a border or have an out of state license and you can buy them just fine.
More like you see a request coming in from FL and you send them there
Don’t request shit you aren’t allowed to have. My state doesn’t ban me from sending it to you, yours bans you from having it. Tf do I care about your state laws. I don’t live there.
Pornhub blocked Texas day one
Because they're serving users in Florida, so they must abide by laws relating to servicing customers there.
I’d argue it’s on the state to figure that out (for better or worse). My site is on a globally connected network, if you don’t want your citizens doing something, you figure it out. It’s not my job.
Well true, but look at the EU.
They conduct business in Florida. Their customers aren’t porn watchers, but people who buy ad space. They could stop selling ads in Florida, but they won’t.
the companies/sites itself can block the site from being acessed from florida though if they choose. yea if it accesible from florida, they have to follow the legislation there.
Why?
How? I do not think we know of a reliable way, DNS blocking get bypassed by alternative DNS ( and ISP probably do not have per state DNSes) , IP blocking get bypassed via VPN, etc. They can say they did put in place something but it is like puttimg a fence without walls around, it is just symbolic.