[eddz]

Well, usually I will ask friends or colleagues who have experience of that country. But if not then yes, I will spend an evening reading up on the country and its rules/customs while planning my trip. I don't know a sensible traveler who doesn't.

[abc-xyz]

Spending an evening reading up on the country may result in you becoming familiar with the punishment of insulting the Thai king, or the risk of engaging in protests or anything political in China, but that's about it.. regarding China, you can't even Google the laws concerning VPN/proxy. You even give an example yourself of you failing to read up on the rules. There are millions of laws, many of which are not even available in English. You can't possibly expect people to become familiar with countries laws.. that would take months and you could still get fucked for no reason. People rely on common sense, and common sense tells you that if AirBNB is available in X country and you have no problem booking the apartment, then that's that.