8 ms·

Not much they can do against tech behemoths based in the US though. They can stop them from gathering EU citizen data, or at least approve laws that try to stop

Not much they can do against tech behemoths based in the US though. They can stop them from gathering EU citizen data, or at least approve laws that try to stop them but who knows what is really happening behind the scenes.

RestlessMind 9y ago
I believe if EU's laws are widely publicized and proved to be useful in EU countries, then there can be enough political pressure in the US. A tangential, but political relevant point: tech companies are in a particularly bad spot in the US because they are hated by both sides; republicans hate them because they are perceived as having liberal bias while democrats hate them because of tax avoidance, worsening inequality, job losses due to automation etc. So a political action against them would be easier to pull off compared to some other sectors like energy or finance.
- dragonwriter 9y ago
  > I believe if EU's laws are widely publicized and proved to be useful in EU countries, then there can be enough political pressure in the US. Worked for universal healthcare, right?
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - RestlessMind 9y ago
    If universal healthcare had not worked in other countries, US wouldn't even have received Obamacare. The fact that other OECD countries have good healthcare systems means you have a significant chunk of population who clamors for a better system here and who stops politicians from gutting what we already have. I say wait for 10-15 more years and we will get universal healthcare in the US.
- bearcobra 9y ago
  I get the feeling that the perception of tech companies as being evil/hated is overblown. Link to a tweet with one survey that supports my claim. https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/942468649390100481 https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/942468649390100481
  - addicted 9y ago
    I agree. I think the distaste is more concentrated among tech circles itself. Whether this is jealousy, or its because people in Tech understand better the power, control and knowledge these companies have than the regular joe is something that isn’t clear to me.
theptip 9y ago
As the article says, under GDPR (coming in mid-2018) they will be able to fine 4% of global revenue, or 20m EUR, whichever is larger [1]. I'm not certain that this particular case is covered by the GDPR, but if it is, then that will compel action. If Facebook declines to pay these fines, then presumably their execs would be arrested if they ever travelled anywhere in the EU. While FB can claim that it “is only subject to the legislation of [the US].”, that is obviously not the case, and once the EU regulators gain their teeth, I'm sure we'll see FB change their tune. [1]: https://www.eugdpr.org/key-changes.html https://www.eugdpr.org/key-changes.html
- DannyBee 9y ago
  Or you'll see FB/others decide the EU isn't worth it over time. It's interesting how many people here believe that there is no other possibility other than "we get what we want to happen". Your faith is, IMHO, misplaced. There are many cases in history where other companies decided it wasn't worth the cost of doing business in certain countries. Or they just successfully coopted the governments!
  - qubex 9y ago
    Are you mad? Miss out on a market of 740+ million of the world's richest consumers, twice the size of the US, the bulk of the western world and most of the developed economies on the planet?? No, that's absolutely not going to happen. Additionally, they'd never risk withdrawing from a market and letting a local competitor develop, take hold, expand, and attack them on home turf. Look at social networks and search engines in China. EDIT: I see you are fairly highly placed in Google. I'm quite surprised if you genuinely think what you wrote, given the raw numbers you must surely know, but given your legal training, I am not at all surprised that you would posture as if you were unaware of this.
    - DannyBee 9y ago
      "EDIT: I see you are fairly highly placed in Google. I'm quite surprised if you genuinely think what you wrote, given the raw numbers you must surely know, but given your legal training, I am not at all surprised that you would posture as if you were unaware of this." Character assassination, awesome! Please leave the company i work for this out of this, always. I never speak for my company on hacker news unless i say otherwise. I've been very clear and consistent about that. Thanks! However, given the personal attack, i'm done. This kind of stupid bullshit is one reason i've stopped contributing as much lately. It's nice for you to present your opinion as if it was the only true possibility and everyone else is an idiot. It's not, however, a great way to foster a discussion. Tacking on a personal attack makes it even more welcoming.

RestlessMind 9y ago

I believe if EU's laws are widely publicized and proved to be useful in EU countries, then there can be enough political pressure in the US. A tangential, but political relevant point: tech companies are in a particularly bad spot in the US because they are hated by both sides; republicans hate them because they are perceived as having liberal bias while democrats hate them because of tax avoidance, worsening inequality, job losses due to automation etc. So a political action against them would be easier to pull off compared to some other sectors like energy or finance.

dragonwriter 9y ago
> I believe if EU's laws are widely publicized and proved to be useful in EU countries, then there can be enough political pressure in the US. Worked for universal healthcare, right?
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- RestlessMind 9y ago
  If universal healthcare had not worked in other countries, US wouldn't even have received Obamacare. The fact that other OECD countries have good healthcare systems means you have a significant chunk of population who clamors for a better system here and who stops politicians from gutting what we already have. I say wait for 10-15 more years and we will get universal healthcare in the US.
bearcobra 9y ago
I get the feeling that the perception of tech companies as being evil/hated is overblown. Link to a tweet with one survey that supports my claim. https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/942468649390100481 https://twitter.com/mattyglesias/status/942468649390100481
- addicted 9y ago
  I agree. I think the distaste is more concentrated among tech circles itself. Whether this is jealousy, or its because people in Tech understand better the power, control and knowledge these companies have than the regular joe is something that isn’t clear to me.

theptip 9y ago

As the article says, under GDPR (coming in mid-2018) they will be able to fine 4% of global revenue, or 20m EUR, whichever is larger [1]. I'm not certain that this particular case is covered by the GDPR, but if it is, then that will compel action. If Facebook declines to pay these fines, then presumably their execs would be arrested if they ever travelled anywhere in the EU. While FB can claim that it “is only subject to the legislation of [the US].”, that is obviously not the case, and once the EU regulators gain their teeth, I'm sure we'll see FB change their tune. [1]: https://www.eugdpr.org/key-changes.html https://www.eugdpr.org/key-changes.html

DannyBee 9y ago
Or you'll see FB/others decide the EU isn't worth it over time. It's interesting how many people here believe that there is no other possibility other than "we get what we want to happen". Your faith is, IMHO, misplaced. There are many cases in history where other companies decided it wasn't worth the cost of doing business in certain countries. Or they just successfully coopted the governments!
- qubex 9y ago
  Are you mad? Miss out on a market of 740+ million of the world's richest consumers, twice the size of the US, the bulk of the western world and most of the developed economies on the planet?? No, that's absolutely not going to happen. Additionally, they'd never risk withdrawing from a market and letting a local competitor develop, take hold, expand, and attack them on home turf. Look at social networks and search engines in China. EDIT: I see you are fairly highly placed in Google. I'm quite surprised if you genuinely think what you wrote, given the raw numbers you must surely know, but given your legal training, I am not at all surprised that you would posture as if you were unaware of this.
  - DannyBee 9y ago
    "EDIT: I see you are fairly highly placed in Google. I'm quite surprised if you genuinely think what you wrote, given the raw numbers you must surely know, but given your legal training, I am not at all surprised that you would posture as if you were unaware of this." Character assassination, awesome! Please leave the company i work for this out of this, always. I never speak for my company on hacker news unless i say otherwise. I've been very clear and consistent about that. Thanks! However, given the personal attack, i'm done. This kind of stupid bullshit is one reason i've stopped contributing as much lately. It's nice for you to present your opinion as if it was the only true possibility and everyone else is an idiot. It's not, however, a great way to foster a discussion. Tacking on a personal attack makes it even more welcoming.