Tucows 2015 Annual Report Download - page 54

Governmental Regulation Affecting the Internet
To date, government regulations have not materially restricted use of the Internet in most parts of the world. The
legal and regulatory environment pertaining to the Internet, however, is uncertain and may change. New laws may be
passed, existing but previously inapplicable laws may be deemed to apply to the Internet, or existing legal safe harbors
may be narrowed, both by U.S. federal or state governments and by governments of foreign jurisdictions. These changes
could affect:
• the liability of online resellers for actions by customers, including fraud, illegal content, spam, phishing, libel
and defamation, infringement of third-party intellectual property and other abusive conduct;
• other claims based on the nature and content of Internet materials, such as pornography;
• user privacy and security issues;
• consumer protection;
• sales and other taxes, including the value-added tax of the European Union member states;
• characteristics and quality of services; and
• cross-border commerce.
The adoption of any new laws or regulations, or the application or interpretation of existing laws or regulations to
the Internet, could hinder growth in use of the Internet and online services generally, and decrease acceptance of the
Internet and online services as a means of communications, commerce and advertising. In addition, such changes in laws
could increase our costs of doing business, subject our business to increased liability or prevent us from delivering our
services over the Internet, thereby harming our business and results of operations.
We may be subject to government regulation that may be costly and may interfere with our ability to conduct business.
Although transmission of our websites primarily originates in Canada and the United States, the Internet is global
in nature. Governments of foreign countries might try to regulate our transmissions or prosecute us for violations of their
laws. Because of the increasing popularity and use of the Internet, federal, state and foreign governments may adopt laws
or regulations in the future concerning commercial online services and the Internet, with respect to:
• user privacy;
• children;
• copyrights and other intellectual property rights and infringement;
• domains;
•pricing;
• content regulation;
• defamation;
• taxation; and
• the characteristics and quality of products and services.
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