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> I still support aggressive competition from the EU simply because the EU needs to stand on its own legs but don't pretend that it's for privacy of its citize
by patrickk 10y ago
> I still support aggressive competition from the EU simply because the EU needs to stand on its own legs but don't pretend that it's for privacy of its citizens.
I was more thinking along the lines of immunity from National Security Letters[1], which could be marketed to companies or individuals who want an extra layer of privacy guarantee.
For example, here is a quote from Dropbox's 2016 Transparency report[2]:
"We believe that those who use online services have a right to know if the government requests their data, and that service providers have a right to notify them of these requests. Often, though, requests for user data are accompanied by court orders preventing Dropbox from providing notice."
An EU-based Dropbox clone could market this as a unique selling point, that the above doesn't apply. Swiss banking for your online storage, if you will.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_security_letter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_security_letter
[2] https://www.dropbox.com/transparency https://www.dropbox.com/transparency
- hubert123 10y agoRight but my point is that this can change very easily in the EU. The EU has even fewer problems with violating privacy than the US, that's what I was trying to say. They always talk big about democracy and freedom of speech but we all know that it isn't quite like that in practice. (see: hate speech)
- CaptainZapp 10y agoThey always talk big about democracy and freedom of speech but we all know that it isn't quite like that in practice. (see: hate speech) Then again I can legally drink a beer in any public park in most EU countries. Personally I prefer this freedom than being able to legally spout racist, inciting garbage or to deny the holocoust.
- AnimalMuppet 10y agoHow do you feel about having some easily-offended individual claim what you said is racist, and having it forcibly removed from the net? Or having some malicious person selectively edit what you said? ("Captain Zapp said, 'Personally I prefer... to deny the holocaust'. Censor him!") Don't assume that restrictions on free speech will always be used in good faith against the targets they "should" be used against. These things have a way of expanding their reach. They can reach you sooner than you think.
- jononor 10y agoOwncloud is pretty much that, and additionally open source? Disclaimer: Not affiliated, though sometimes hang around in same circles as some that work there.
- patrickk 10y agoYes, but is Owncloud as easy to use as Dropbox? Is is heavily marketed at non-technical users like Dropbox is? Most non-tech users won't go to the hassle of researching this stuff, they barely know about mass surveillance and don't know anything about self-hosting. I actually did some research on Owncloud hosting, turns out there's a whole bunch of providers that offer free consumer tier hosting[1], I haven't heard of any of them[1]. [1] https://owncloud.org/providers/ https://owncloud.org/providers/
- smarinov 10y agoNextcloud* AFAIK most core developers of owncloud left that boat a while ago to continue working on the software in a more sensible way.