

Economist: WikiLeaks is more of a legal hack, than technical hack - dxjones
http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2010/12/wikileaks_again

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_delirium
I agree with the headline point (it's more a matter of navigating laws than
technology), but I'm not as sure about the argument that Assange ought to be
forced to choose between not using the protections of various jurisdictions,
or choosing one and submitting to its laws fully.

Isn't avoiding that precisely what anyone with sufficient power does in
today's globalized world? Large corporations purposely site different
activities in different jurisdictions to take advantage of each jurisdiction's
benefits and avoid each jurisdiction's pitfalls, as the company's self-
interest dictates. Why can't Assange try to engage in the same sort of
jurisdictional arbitrage, living in one country, running servers in another,
accepting mail in a third, etc.? If there's something inherently objectionable
about that (because it shows a sort of divided loyalty and game-playing), then
it's far more people than just Assange who are guilty of it.

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dxjones
I agree with your comment about jurisdictional arbitrage (lovely phrase). Look
at Google, Microsoft, and Linkedin using Ireland as a tax haven. Not only do
they play arbitrage, they flex their economic muscle by telling Ireland, if
you raise corporate taxes (above the current 12.5%) we'll leave. Instead,
Ireland cuts the pay of all govt employees.

