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When I do something online, I am physically in some legal jurisdiction (residence), and there is ample evidence that if my act is not legal I may face penalties by my state/government for actions I made in the computer in my residence.

If my action is not illegal in my state of residence but it is on the state/government where the servers are housed, does that mean I have committed a crime in the state where the servers are? While extradition for a violation like this seems unlikely, visiting the area could cause issues, as you would now physically be in the jurisciction where the "crime occurred".

Free speech/defamation and 'age of consent' laws are two probable scenarios where this could occur.

Are there any examples of a user being charged in state/government with the commission of a crime based on server rather than physical location?

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    What does this have to do with moderators and/or communities?
    – Seth
    Commented Oct 24, 2014 at 19:20
  • Any time there is an extradition hearing - ie. Kim Dotcom, Chinese military officers accused of hacking into corporate networks, Gary McKinnon (UK citizen accused of hacking US military systems). In each of these cases, the physical location of the servers (in the US) is the reason the charges have been filed.
    – Andy
    Commented Oct 24, 2014 at 19:46
  • tl;dr answer: Yes, consult a lawyer
    – Von Lion
    Commented Nov 4, 2014 at 15:38

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