Law & jurisdiction
Who is legally responsible for content on a VPS?
You are. On an unmanaged VPS you are the operator of the service and the publisher of its content; the provider is a conduit. That allocation is what makes intermediary liability protections work in most jurisdictions — the host is not liable for what it neither controls nor knows about, provided it acts on actual knowledge.
The practical implication is that "the host allowed it" is not a defence available to you, and "the customer did it" is generally a defence available to us. That asymmetry is the normal structure of hosting law worldwide.
It also means the decisions that matter are yours: what you publish, which jurisdiction you chose, and whether you have a plan for a complaint. We can tell you where the line is; we cannot stand behind it for you.
7 answers in Law & jurisdiction
- Is offshore hosting legal? Yes. Renting a server in another country is an ordinary commercial transaction, and no jurisdiction we operate in prohibits it. Offshore hosting chang…
- Does the DMCA apply to offshore hosting? The DMCA is United States copyright statute. Its notice-and-takedown procedure and safe harbour apply to service providers situated in the United Stat…
- What happens if you receive a subpoena or court order? We assess whether it is valid legal process from a court with jurisdiction over OnionVPS. If it is, we comply with exactly what is ordered and nothing…
- What is an MLAT and why does it matter for hosting? A mutual legal assistance treaty is the formal channel through which one country asks another to gather evidence on its behalf. It matters because a f…
- What content is not allowed on your servers? Child sexual abuse material, which we report to the appropriate authority. Malware command-and-control, ransomware infrastructure and exploit kits. Ph…
- How do you handle abuse complaints? Complaints are triaged by evidence, not by volume. Automated copyright notices to non-US locations are forwarded to you for information and no action …