This isnt entirely true. In the case of megaupload, I am pretty sure I read they had servers seized in the Netherlands and most [all?] of the arrests were done in foreign countries.
Further, I know it was definitely not the case with the online pokersites [PokerStars, FullTilt, and UltimateBet/Absolute] being shut down in April. AFAIK, ICANN is based in the US and oversees .com [among other] address. Because of this, with a court order, the US gov't can seize a domain name, with or without SOPA and they have already done this with online poker sites that have no physical presence in the United States.
Megaupload is in the same spot as those sites; they violated US law, a case was filed against them, and the US gov't seized their domain, servers, etc. Due process was followed. It is a little far-reaching the the US can so easily seize .com domains, and that is why you now will see very few online poker sites that serve the US use a .com [instead they use .eu or .ag, primarily]. If a company break US laws, the US gov't can pursue them, regardless of where they are. Whether or not they should be able to do that so easily is another question.
"""If a company break US laws, the US gov't can pursue them, regardless of where they are."""
Do you really mean that as broadly as it's written? Shouldn't it be "If a company break US laws on US soil, the US gov't can pursue them, regardless of where they are." while the Internet has made the world smaller, nations are still sovereign and should be treated as such. Frankly, I'm really tired of my government feeling like it has to police the world.
I dont mean it 100% literally and dont really write my posts to be semantically perfect and IANAL, so I hope they arent interpreted to be anything more than they are. The hard part is defining "on US soil," because with the internet companies have a much further reach than just their home base.
For the poker sites, they do not [and did not] have a physical presence in the US, but still involve US citizens in their business and it was argued that US banks were involved in money laundering and other crimes that took place "on US soil." So it is pretty similar to the megaupload case; if you dance around the word of the law and profit from US customers, the US gov't will likely pursue you if you are a big enough target
Further, I know it was definitely not the case with the online pokersites [PokerStars, FullTilt, and UltimateBet/Absolute] being shut down in April. AFAIK, ICANN is based in the US and oversees .com [among other] address. Because of this, with a court order, the US gov't can seize a domain name, with or without SOPA and they have already done this with online poker sites that have no physical presence in the United States.
Megaupload is in the same spot as those sites; they violated US law, a case was filed against them, and the US gov't seized their domain, servers, etc. Due process was followed. It is a little far-reaching the the US can so easily seize .com domains, and that is why you now will see very few online poker sites that serve the US use a .com [instead they use .eu or .ag, primarily]. If a company break US laws, the US gov't can pursue them, regardless of where they are. Whether or not they should be able to do that so easily is another question.