Re: [Sks-devel] keyserver.pramberger.at terminating

[Robert J. Hansen]

On 9/7/2010 6:55 PM, Anakin-Marc Zaeger wrote:
> Just out of curiosity, what effect, if any, would said Austrian
> legislation have on those of us with keyservers in countries other than
> Austria?  While the law itself is domestic in nature (I doubt that
> Austria or any other country would be able to enforce their laws in a
> foreign sovereign nation), are there any international treaties which
> this issue may fall under?

IANAL.  I am especially not an expert on international privacy law,
which seems to be (to my layman's eyes) a giant no-man's-land where no
one can really predict what various courts will do.

That said: commonly, businesses that have offices in the European Union
are required to obey EU directives on data privacy, regardless of
whether those businesses are headquartered in an EU country.  As an
example, American airlines must abide by EU privacy directives since
they fly into and out of EU airports.

There are a *ton* of exceptions to this general principle.  After going
blind on this subject for a few weeks, what I came away with was "you
are lost in a maze of twisty little regulations, all different."

I can't give any guidance as to whether you are going to be affected by
data privacy laws in the EU.  I can only tell you that it is not outside
the realm of possibility, especially if your keyserver is run by a
business that operates in the EU.

If you are concerned about this, you need to consult legal counsel
that's versed in both US and EU privacy law.  Good luck.