They could simply reprogram the internet to block encrypted trafic. You do realize they control the internet, right? Yes of course the people would get upset if they lose their social media, but big corporations know how to be "team players" so that's not a risk.

Make copyright automatic from publication, with a term of 7 years. If they register it and pay yearly property taxes then they can keep it for 14 more. And that's it, no more extensions.

The USA (and allies) stripped Germany of science and technology and patents worth billions. The Apolo space program was only possible because of that theft.

There likely are several HAM radio sites on the island, and they are likely routing their personal internet over the air. However the bandwidth is probably at dialup speeds so I doubt they are sharing. I doubt the (Polynesian?) elders are up to speed with celestial navigation, especially with GPS still up and running.

A satellite has limited and expensive bandwidth and high latency. It's cheaper and faster to use fiber. The public also thinks their phone calls go over coper wire, when almost the entire telephone system was converted to packet switched internet years ago.

They do intend to break everything. By banning good encryption they can sort out the lawbreakers by looking for stuff they can't read.

If you are on vacation and you need to visit the hospital, they will likely want to talk with your doctor (in another country, using an incompatible medical records system). How are they going to manage that without violating government rules on transmition of medical records?

What was done to them is exactly what they do to others. They break into people's computers and spy on people. Granted this is legal if authorized by the national government of a foreign country- but I don't believe the local police force has the legal authority to do that.

Some of Brittains closest allies are brutal despots. Keeping Amnesty International from "Rocking the Boat" directly supports an ally, and therefore supports national security. Yes this is immoral and illegal, but you can't pretend it isn't in the countries best interest.

The public loses interest after the first few trips. You must make visible progress to keep the funding going, or better yet start with a colony. If you do a "wave the flag" trip, that's likely all you'll get.

The resource useage is exponentially higher in cloud city. If you are planning a self sufficient colony (or close) you really don't want a flying colony, you want it on the ground. Yes the temperature and pressure are nice, but that's all it has going for it. If you want Venus, go underground. That takes care of the pressure and 2 meters of foam insulation and heavy duty heat exchangers deal with the temperature. You could put a spaceport in the clouds though, with a high pressure blimp to get you down to the ground after your flimsy rocket arrives.

In order to be viable, a Mars colony must pay for anything they need to import from Earth. Given that nothing on Mars will be cheaper than on Earth (economy of scale, no space suit required, third world wages, shipping costs), how can they maintain a positive trade balance with Earth?

How to do this: run all communications through a government run server at the ISP, where everything is decoded then re-encoded and sent on its way. It gives the gov access, handles the key exchange issues, and there is no way around you other than setting up your own network.

You could set up shop in Greece. I hear they will do anything for money and jobs.

Yes, you can. Tap the private communications of the government and their family/friends and put everything on the front page in the middle of an election and they will change their mind about security. If they are personally harmed by security gaps then they will want that fixed.