Prosecutorial Leverage Unchecked

As if it were not bad enough that United States proescutors have repeatedly tried to extend U.S. law extraterritorially to online casinos operating offshore, now it appears they are going after American businesses, like Google and Yahoo!, that sell ads to these foreign entities. Web Engines Plan to End Online Ads for Gambling [nytimes.com]. The theory is that, by accepting advertising money, the Internet search providers are "aiding and abetting" gambling.

But then how to distinguish folks who are really assisting a criminal enterprise from those who are just selling ordinary products? Should the company that sells computers, office supplies or toilet paper to offshore casinos also be deemed to "aid" allegedly unlawful gambling? When there's no rational way to draw such lines, all that is left is the naked exercise of power. The U.S. Constitution used to have something to say about that.

 Posted by glenn