So, someone runs a blog, vlog, social media account, personal website, or another online resource — one that is simultaneously accessible in many countries. Which country’s laws should its content comply with?
There is no simple answer.
Below, I will use the term “digital online resource” as a single term covering a website, blog, vlog, social media account with posts, a channel in a messaging application, and a mobile application. The method of delivering information is secondary here; what matters are other factual circumstances to which the relevant legal rules are connected.
In short…
Online activity is not governed by a single international treaty. Each state regulates it independently, and these rules:
(1) differ from one another in substance, and (2) apply to different persons based on different criteria.
At the same time, the same set of facts may simultaneously fall within the scope of the laws of several states.
Obvious factors
The basic rule seems straightforward: a citizen must comply with the laws of the state of their citizenship, while an entrepreneur or legal entity must comply with the laws of the state in which they are registered as a business entity.
But add one more detail, and the simplicity disappears. For instance, there is an individual who is a citizen of one state and permanently resides in another state and is registered there as an entrepreneur. Activities of this individual must now comply simultaneously with the requirements of the country of his/her actual residence (where he/she conducts the business) and the requirements of his/her country of citizenship — usually not all of the latter, but only those requirements that the state applies extraterritorially to its citizens, regardless of where they are located.
Less obvious factors
There are more complicated situations. If information is distributed to a defined group of individuals and entities (a closed group or a channel with restricted access) or through closed-type communication networks, the analysis changes. In such cases, the relevant criteria are rather closer to private communications or contractual relationships.
Likewise, advertising activities, unfair competition, copyright compliance, and the collection of personal data through a digital online resource are analyzed differently. A single publication may be considered distributed and reproduced everywhere for the purposes of copyright infringement, while not being targeted at a specific market in a specific country for the purposes of trademark law and protection against unfair competition. At the same time, from a GDPR perspective, a digital online resource may be used to monitor the behavior of data subjects located in the European Union.
What exactly should be kept in mind
To avoid getting lost in this multilayered analysis, it is worth keeping four separate issues in mind, without mixing them:
– whether contractual relations arise (or should arise) in connection with the operation of the resource between the person controlling it and those who have access to it;
– whether the person controlling the digital online resource has caused harm to someone, i.e. whether there has been a non-contractual violation of another person’s rights;
– which country’s law governs and establishes requirements for the textual, video, audio, or other content of the resource, as well as requirements concerning the provision of services and sale of goods available through it, and regulates the activities of the digital online resource;
– which country’s court or authority will have jurisdiction to hear a case related to the activities of the resource and the person controlling it (a court of one state may apply the law of another state, as noted above).
These issues affect the logic of connecting a case to the law of a particular country and to the appropriate forum for resolving the dispute. The purpose of a digital online resource may vary — from simply disseminating information to an unlimited audience to advertising and selling products or services.
A contractual relationship between a blogger and an advertiser is governed by one set of rules; compensation for harm caused to a third party by a publication is governed by another; the jurisdiction of a particular court to hear a dispute is governed by a third; while requirements applicable to the content itself are governed by a fourth — and these requirements often differ from country to country.
What’s next
In the following posts, I will examine these issues separately, with reference to specific court decisions, examples, and legal provisions from different countries. This will not constitute legal advice or a comprehensive presentation of the subject matter. It is simply my personal opinion on the issues discussed above, without any warranties or representations as to the accuracy or completeness of the information provided.
© Yuriy Karlash, 2026. The content may not be used for AI training
Технології, Медіа і Телекомунікації 