In France and Germany, it is illegal to sell Nazi memorabilia (from the World War II era), as well as neo-Nazi items, on Web auction sites. In fact, France had a dispute with Yahoo, Inc. about this point in 2000, and Yahoo agreed to install filtering technology that would block access to information about these items on the Yahoo site in France (even though advertising and selling the same kinds of items on U.S. Web auction sites is legal). Your sister, Jane, has recently founded a new Web auction site in the United States, which, of course, will have to compete with well-known sites such as eBay to succeed. Jane's newly launched auction site is eager to attract as much business as it can, as long as the items being traded on it are in compliance with U.S. law. Two potential clients, both of whom are U.S. citizens living in America, wish to auction some Nazi memorabilia and neo-Nazi items on this new site.
Initially, Jane is conflicted about what to do, but she is then informed by a few of her business associates that auctioning these items on Web sites in the United States is perfectly legal. Jane also realizes that if she turns down the prospective clients, they will only go elsewhere to a site that will list the items in question.
1. What would you advise Jane to do in this case?
Suppose her Web auction company decides to accept these items, and further suppose that they eventually end up for sale in Germany or France where they would have been acquired illegally.
2. Would Jane and her online auction site bear any responsibility in aiding and abetting a crime in a country outside the United States? Explain.