Material hosted on servers in the US can fall under UK jurisdiction, according to a landmark ruling by a British court this week. Businessman Graham Waddon stood accused of publishing pornographic material, including pictures of acts of bestiality, on the internet, which is illegal under the UK’s Obscene Publications Act. Waddon claimed that as the material was hosted by a US internet service provider, it was outside the jurisdiction of UK law. Southwark Crown Court rejected this defense, saying instead that as the material was uploaded (by Waddon) and downloaded (by the police) in the UK, it could be classified as being published in the UK. Waddon ran a series of sites based in the US, charging UK customers 25 pounds ($39.40) a month for access, accumulating a 1.5m pound ($2.4m) fortune in one year. Following the ruling, Waddon pleaded guilty to 11 sample counts of publishing obscene material, and the case was adjourned until July 30.
