It doesn't have to, but unless it is located in Iran, NK or other US-unfriendly place, US govt can always pressure the local govt to pressure the local business to turn things over. I wouldn't, for example, count on countries like Switzerland, US is already getting to its banks to turn over US accounts, and is supposed to be one of the most independent and un-influenced countries.

With the current legislation trend, eventually un-cooperative or "terrorist friendly" sites would just be filtered out and blocked, so you might have a hard time accessing your email. Some messages might never make it to you.

  > US govt can always pressure the local govt

That depends. In some places, the privacy laws are better than in the US. You would just have to choose wisely.

> In some places, the privacy laws are better than in the US.

That's nice, you still believe that the laws on file actually govern how the country is run.

Bug if you follow e.g. how the spanish SOPA-like was passed, you realize it's all a facade.