3 ms·

To me, asking a small developer with a site that gets a few thousands users to implement GDPR is like asking a dad to do full safety test on a toy car he built

To me, asking a small developer with a site that gets a few thousands users to implement GDPR is like asking a dad to do full safety test on a toy car he built for his kid, just because a big company like GM had safety issues. The problem EU is trying to solve here are large companies like Facebook making monopolies and syphoning data. So why the hell do they have to impose rules on small hobby websites that run at a loss? There's a huge chunk of the web that is filled with niche web tools, mostly made as a hobby, running for free. I myself own 2-3 such sites. Now, I'm forced to spend my hobby time adding a bunch of new features on a site that already loses money? I'm sorry but the couple thousand people that depend on this tool will have to find someplace else I guess. HN sure loves to worry about AMP killing the internet, well to me this is far more dangerous. Can't wait for larger troll companies bullying small devs with lawsuits and killing all their competition using GDPR.

riffraff 9y ago
presumably you have laws that require street vehicles have a valid license before they can go on the road. Do you remember the police arresting someone because of a toy car they built? If not, then why do you expect the EU to go after the equivalent site with a few thousand users?
- ehsankia 9y ago
  Logically, it's very unlikely. Realistically, seeing the risk of a $20m fine, I sure as hell won't take the chance and will take down my site until the dust settles and the kinks gets ironed out.
  - somebadguy 9y ago
    Good.
- mdpopescu 9y ago
  > Do you remember the police arresting someone because of a toy car they built? Does this apply? [1] [1] http://fortune.com/2017/07/21/five-year-old-fine-lemonade-stand/ http://fortune.com/2017/07/21/five-year-old-fine-lemonade-st...
  - riffraff 9y ago
    since * the fine has been cancelled and the council has apologised * this is such a rare occurrence to be worth news reports I'm going to say it validates the point.
    - mdpopescu 9y ago
      Sure. Going back to your question > why do you expect the EU to go after the equivalent site with a few thousand users You are saying that they DO that, but then will (probably) apologize afterwards. Some website owners consider that an unacceptable risk.
GordonS 9y ago
> Now, I'm forced to spend my hobby time adding a bunch of new features on a site that already loses money? What new features do you think you need to implement to comply with GDPR?
- jimktrains2 9y ago
  Dealing with missing user records. Deleting all records pertaining to a user, which may break a well-normalized database. Keeping track of any analysis you did and why (e.g. scanning server logs to see country of origin to see if you may want to seek out a translation of your UI?)
  - GordonS 9y ago
    In practise, 'it depends'. It may be that it's simple enough to delete everything, or it may be that you anonymise, rather than actually delete. E.g. if you have a `users` table with: `id, name, email_address` You could simply blank out everything apart from `id`. Regarding logs, it might be worth thinking about whether you actually need them to contain personally identifying information (e.g. IP addresses, usernames) - if not, just don't log them.
  - codedokode 9y ago
    Just replace deleted user's data with "Mr. Deleted 1234, 1234@deleted.com".

riffraff 9y ago

presumably you have laws that require street vehicles have a valid license before they can go on the road. Do you remember the police arresting someone because of a toy car they built? If not, then why do you expect the EU to go after the equivalent site with a few thousand users?

ehsankia 9y ago
Logically, it's very unlikely. Realistically, seeing the risk of a $20m fine, I sure as hell won't take the chance and will take down my site until the dust settles and the kinks gets ironed out.
- somebadguy 9y ago
  Good.
mdpopescu 9y ago
> Do you remember the police arresting someone because of a toy car they built? Does this apply? [1] [1] http://fortune.com/2017/07/21/five-year-old-fine-lemonade-stand/ http://fortune.com/2017/07/21/five-year-old-fine-lemonade-st...
- riffraff 9y ago
  since * the fine has been cancelled and the council has apologised * this is such a rare occurrence to be worth news reports I'm going to say it validates the point.
  - mdpopescu 9y ago
    Sure. Going back to your question > why do you expect the EU to go after the equivalent site with a few thousand users You are saying that they DO that, but then will (probably) apologize afterwards. Some website owners consider that an unacceptable risk.

GordonS 9y ago

> Now, I'm forced to spend my hobby time adding a bunch of new features on a site that already loses money? What new features do you think you need to implement to comply with GDPR?

jimktrains2 9y ago
Dealing with missing user records. Deleting all records pertaining to a user, which may break a well-normalized database. Keeping track of any analysis you did and why (e.g. scanning server logs to see country of origin to see if you may want to seek out a translation of your UI?)
- GordonS 9y ago
  In practise, 'it depends'. It may be that it's simple enough to delete everything, or it may be that you anonymise, rather than actually delete. E.g. if you have a `users` table with: `id, name, email_address` You could simply blank out everything apart from `id`. Regarding logs, it might be worth thinking about whether you actually need them to contain personally identifying information (e.g. IP addresses, usernames) - if not, just don't log them.
- codedokode 9y ago
  Just replace deleted user's data with "Mr. Deleted 1234, 1234@deleted.com".