Curious, how do I apply German law to US citizens living in the United States? Last time I checked that wasn't possible, even though they have coorporations it's still different jurisdictions.
That's like saying crime is illegal in the United States and all countries of the EU, therefore I should be able to get US citizens prosecuted for EU laws.
The US-Netherlands Extradition Treaty, Article 2 says it needs to be considered criminal conduct in both jurisdiction, one jurisdiction calling it 'terrorism' is not enough for dual criminality to apply. I asked GPT-6 and it said you're wrong.
No, that’s not what I said. “Crime is illegal” - how about a serious argument?
Ask GPT-6 if aiding terrorists, which is what the US accuses these people of, is illegal in the Netherlands. If it is, then the server can be seized under the collaboration treaties.
The Netherlands doesn't consider A/I terrorists though, does it? Therefore, dual criminality doesn't apply.
Russia considers Facebook/Meta a terrorist organization in their jurisdiction, that doesn't make universally true. Saying "terrorism is illegal" to dismiss due process in a foreign jurisdiction is actually very close to attempting "crime is illegal" as an argument.
No, that’s not how it works. The Netherlands do not determine whether the subjects of evidence-gathering requests are guilty. The request is processed without any kind of judgement.
I've worked with German law enforcement in the past, seizing foreign servers as evidence without going through due process in that foreign country is not a thing. They need a warrant from a court in that country, which requires dealing with their jurisdiction.
Of course, they would've loved if they could just collect US servers for evidence-gathering.
GDPR is a great example of EU authorities pretending that an EU law applies to companies without an EU presence.
Also, if you get the US to sign an agreement saying they will do X if someone in the US violates a German law, that's exactly what would happen. It doesn't happen because the US doesn't typically sign those agreements unless there's a comparable US law.
The downvoted comment is actually right: both Netherlands and the EU have mutual legal assistance treaties with the US. Now whether the Dutch legal basis was respected or not, local investigations (including parliamentary) are ongoing so nobody here on HN can really answer. But yes, the transfer can be legally blocked and actually must (and will) wait for a decision on it.
