Time for the Law to take internet geolocation technologies seriously

There are longstanding assumptions that the Internet operates independently of geographical location, and that it is borderless in nature. After all, sending an e-mail to a person in the office next door is done in the same manner as sending the same e-mail to a person located on the other side of the planet. Similarly, visiting a local website is done in the same manner as visiting a foreign website. The important role these assumptions have played in Internet regulation, 1 as well as more broadly, should not be underestimated. In fact, it could be said that a significant part of the current thinking about matters falling within the scope of Internet regulation takes these assumptions as its point of departure. In particular, these assumptions have guided our thinking on the matters of when a court may exercise jurisdiction over Internet conduct, and which country’s law should govern Internet conduct.