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This sounds great! Though if the owning company is in the US, then the US views this as reason to be able to access customer data no matter where its stored. Mo

This sounds great! Though if the owning company is in the US, then the US views this as reason to be able to access customer data no matter where its stored. More fun to come mm? Question: Why do companies HQ themselves in the US? Why not pick a friendlier country, then turn their US parts into a simple contractor that supplies software development and engineering resources? Then the US company would not have actual ownership of any data. Forcing them to reveal customer records would be the same as forcing an individual to steal data right?

lagadu 11y ago
Because the bigger companies were established long ago, when the US had the much bigger market. Nowadays that's not true but the US startup VC is a lot stronger in the US for a bunch of reasons, so new startups tend to be established there much more often (with the financial tech field being the exception I believe). If you're making a new company you're going to make it where you live just out of sheer convenience.
saalweachter 11y ago
https://xkcd.com/1053/ https://xkcd.com/1053/ Today you get to learn about: American Exceptionalism! It is important to realize that, within the US, there is essentially a universal belief that the US is the best place to live, work, or be in the entire world. The debate is not so much whether the universe revolves around the United States, but which city exactly the axis passes through -- New York, DC, San Francisco, LA. It is very important that a universal axis has a commonly used two letter acronym, which is why not even a Chicagoan seriously believes the axis is through Chicago. When the EU makes privacy complaints against US companies, the common perception -- even among US citizens who disapprove of domestic spying programs -- is that something is wrong with the EU. The idea that the EU could be right to hold a US corporation accountable to their laws never even occurs. No American could ever conceive of establishing the HQ of a US corporation outside the US -- except maybe as part of a skeevy tax dodge. The US is the best place in the world to live, work, and run a business. Why would you want to go anywhere else? To be fair, most of the US companies that do establish some sort of off-shore setup are engaging in some sort of skeevy tax dodge.
- MichaelGG 11y ago
  I mean I know a lot of "common" people believe that - I've lived in the US in the past. But I thought once a lot of money was on the line, reality or cynicism would set in.
  - saalweachter 11y ago
    If money cured bias we'd probably live in a lot nicer world :-)
- RaleyField 11y ago
  > No American could ever conceive of establishing the HQ of a US corporation outside the US Maybe incorporation in US really is better, at least for US citizens. It's easier to deal with local courts than foreign courts. If your European subsidy runs afoul of some regulation in a major way then they probably can't take your assets from your US based parent company. Then US is arguably more business friendly in many ways.
- RaleyField 11y ago
  > No American could ever conceive of establishing the HQ of a US corporation outside the US Maybe incorporation in US really is better, at least for US citizens. It's easier to deal with local courts than foreign courts. If your European subsidy runs afoul of some regulation in a major way then they probably can't take your assets from your US based parent company. Then US is arguably more business friendly in many ways.
AndrewKemendo 11y ago
Why do companies HQ themselves in the US? At least in the tech sector...because the U.S. currently has, by far, the most venture money [1] and the largest addressable market[2]. [1]http://pitchbook.com/pr_20150109_1.html http://pitchbook.com/pr_20150109_1.html [2]http://techcrunch.com/2011/12/23/flurry-largest-addressable-markets-for-mobile-developers-in-2012-include-india-china-japan-u-s/ http://techcrunch.com/2011/12/23/flurry-largest-addressable-... (slightly old)
- MichaelGG 11y ago
  But what stops them from a: switching HQ, or b: starting in another country? It's not like the US has serious currency export restrictions, right? And little stops a company overseas to do business in the US, right?
  - AndrewKemendo 11y ago
    I think the answer to both of your questions is, technically nothing. Once you have built infrastructure and a base however those kinds of moves are very costly in time, effort and money. And little stops a company overseas to do business in the US, right? I think legally, no, but for better or worse, there are a ton of tools that are U.S. only - an example from today: Microsoft Hololens developer edition is available only to the US and Canada.

lagadu 11y ago

Because the bigger companies were established long ago, when the US had the much bigger market. Nowadays that's not true but the US startup VC is a lot stronger in the US for a bunch of reasons, so new startups tend to be established there much more often (with the financial tech field being the exception I believe). If you're making a new company you're going to make it where you live just out of sheer convenience.

saalweachter 11y ago

https://xkcd.com/1053/ https://xkcd.com/1053/ Today you get to learn about: American Exceptionalism! It is important to realize that, within the US, there is essentially a universal belief that the US is the best place to live, work, or be in the entire world. The debate is not so much whether the universe revolves around the United States, but which city exactly the axis passes through -- New York, DC, San Francisco, LA. It is very important that a universal axis has a commonly used two letter acronym, which is why not even a Chicagoan seriously believes the axis is through Chicago. When the EU makes privacy complaints against US companies, the common perception -- even among US citizens who disapprove of domestic spying programs -- is that something is wrong with the EU. The idea that the EU could be right to hold a US corporation accountable to their laws never even occurs. No American could ever conceive of establishing the HQ of a US corporation outside the US -- except maybe as part of a skeevy tax dodge. The US is the best place in the world to live, work, and run a business. Why would you want to go anywhere else? To be fair, most of the US companies that do establish some sort of off-shore setup are engaging in some sort of skeevy tax dodge.

MichaelGG 11y ago
I mean I know a lot of "common" people believe that - I've lived in the US in the past. But I thought once a lot of money was on the line, reality or cynicism would set in.
- saalweachter 11y ago
  If money cured bias we'd probably live in a lot nicer world :-)
RaleyField 11y ago
> No American could ever conceive of establishing the HQ of a US corporation outside the US Maybe incorporation in US really is better, at least for US citizens. It's easier to deal with local courts than foreign courts. If your European subsidy runs afoul of some regulation in a major way then they probably can't take your assets from your US based parent company. Then US is arguably more business friendly in many ways.
RaleyField 11y ago
> No American could ever conceive of establishing the HQ of a US corporation outside the US Maybe incorporation in US really is better, at least for US citizens. It's easier to deal with local courts than foreign courts. If your European subsidy runs afoul of some regulation in a major way then they probably can't take your assets from your US based parent company. Then US is arguably more business friendly in many ways.

AndrewKemendo 11y ago

Why do companies HQ themselves in the US? At least in the tech sector...because the U.S. currently has, by far, the most venture money [1] and the largest addressable market[2]. [1]http://pitchbook.com/pr_20150109_1.html http://pitchbook.com/pr_20150109_1.html [2]http://techcrunch.com/2011/12/23/flurry-largest-addressable-markets-for-mobile-developers-in-2012-include-india-china-japan-u-s/ http://techcrunch.com/2011/12/23/flurry-largest-addressable-... (slightly old)

MichaelGG 11y ago
But what stops them from a: switching HQ, or b: starting in another country? It's not like the US has serious currency export restrictions, right? And little stops a company overseas to do business in the US, right?
- AndrewKemendo 11y ago
  I think the answer to both of your questions is, technically nothing. Once you have built infrastructure and a base however those kinds of moves are very costly in time, effort and money. And little stops a company overseas to do business in the US, right? I think legally, no, but for better or worse, there are a ton of tools that are U.S. only - an example from today: Microsoft Hololens developer edition is available only to the US and Canada.