6 ms·

They have also never had the power to collect from any but the largest of companies outside their own borders. Now they are at least claiming that they do have

They have also never had the power to collect from any but the largest of companies outside their own borders. Now they are at least claiming that they do have this power. That sets a dangerous precedent and opens up the floodgates of abuse, because they don't have to deal with the PR or economic damage that the fines they assess internationally will cause - they import the money and export the problems. They simply see a massive inflow of money and get to hobble foreign competitors of local companies. It's a protectionist law, with the added bonus of extreme financial incentives for aggressive enforcement.

jimnotgym 8y ago
> They simply see a massive inflow of money and get to hobble foreign competitors of local companies. That appears to be a baseless comment. > It's a protectionist law Or another way to look at it the US tech sector is no longer going to pick and choose which of our laws apply to it.
- downandout 8y ago
  That appears to be a baseless comment. I'm intrigued. How is it baseless to say that a given EU country, say Germany, would not see a massive inflow of foreign money and a bunch of hobbled foreign competitors of German companies if they chose to engage in aggressive enforcement of GDPR against foreign companies?
  - oldcynic 8y ago
    Because we have an entire legal framework with centuries of precedent. Just about every law and regulation gives just a maximum penalty without countless cases of those being used to hobble foreign competitors. See also the answer to when you asked 17 days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17005603 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17005603
    - downandout 8y ago
      Since we are beating dead horses, I will again repeat that nothing stated in the GDPR requires warnings or requires that fines not be very large. Is it, or is it not, legally possible for a regulator to seek fines against you under GDPR without first issuing a warning? Please link to the specific law that exists outside the GDPR that requires such warnings. It has to be written somewhere...you (and other fans of GDPR) keep making this argument, so such a law must exist. The "answer" you linked to was just more of the same stuff you keep spouting, not a written law. If I can see such a law in the "old and large legal framework" you GDPR fans keep referring to that is somehow supposed to protect us from abuses, I'll happily admit that I'm wrong.
      - oldcynic 8y ago
        I think, though I could be mistaken, that it originates from German law. The UK had a very similar requirement established in case law. Nonetheless the EU views proportionality as a central principle enshrined in Article 49 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights [0]. "The severity of penalties must not be disproportionate to the criminal offence" You're no doubt going to tell me that's far too vague and woolly. So this link might give you a flavour of how EU fundamental principles[1] came about from a bunch of centuries old separate national legal systems: http://blogs.northampton.ac.uk/law/2015/11/02/proportionality-%E2%80%93-an-increasingly-important-principle-of-eu-law/ http://blogs.northampton.ac.uk/law/2015/11/02/proportionalit... Just a random result on first page - there may be better or more easily readable sources. That proportionality applies to everything in EU law, and there have been numerous cases through the courts, national Judicial Review, and taking cases to the EU Courts of Justice. The principle is firmly enshrined. As with anything human mistakes are made, so of course there are appeals from time to time. That's how case law gets made. [0] http://fra.europa.eu/en/charterpedia/article/49-principles-legality-and-proportionality-criminal-offences-and-penalties http://fra.europa.eu/en/charterpedia/article/49-principles-l... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_principles_of_European_Union_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_principles_of_European...
        downandout 8y ago

jimnotgym 8y ago

> They simply see a massive inflow of money and get to hobble foreign competitors of local companies. That appears to be a baseless comment. > It's a protectionist law Or another way to look at it the US tech sector is no longer going to pick and choose which of our laws apply to it.

downandout 8y ago
That appears to be a baseless comment. I'm intrigued. How is it baseless to say that a given EU country, say Germany, would not see a massive inflow of foreign money and a bunch of hobbled foreign competitors of German companies if they chose to engage in aggressive enforcement of GDPR against foreign companies?
- oldcynic 8y ago
  Because we have an entire legal framework with centuries of precedent. Just about every law and regulation gives just a maximum penalty without countless cases of those being used to hobble foreign competitors. See also the answer to when you asked 17 days ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17005603 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17005603
  - downandout 8y ago
    Since we are beating dead horses, I will again repeat that nothing stated in the GDPR requires warnings or requires that fines not be very large. Is it, or is it not, legally possible for a regulator to seek fines against you under GDPR without first issuing a warning? Please link to the specific law that exists outside the GDPR that requires such warnings. It has to be written somewhere...you (and other fans of GDPR) keep making this argument, so such a law must exist. The "answer" you linked to was just more of the same stuff you keep spouting, not a written law. If I can see such a law in the "old and large legal framework" you GDPR fans keep referring to that is somehow supposed to protect us from abuses, I'll happily admit that I'm wrong.
    - oldcynic 8y ago
      I think, though I could be mistaken, that it originates from German law. The UK had a very similar requirement established in case law. Nonetheless the EU views proportionality as a central principle enshrined in Article 49 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights [0]. "The severity of penalties must not be disproportionate to the criminal offence" You're no doubt going to tell me that's far too vague and woolly. So this link might give you a flavour of how EU fundamental principles[1] came about from a bunch of centuries old separate national legal systems: http://blogs.northampton.ac.uk/law/2015/11/02/proportionality-%E2%80%93-an-increasingly-important-principle-of-eu-law/ http://blogs.northampton.ac.uk/law/2015/11/02/proportionalit... Just a random result on first page - there may be better or more easily readable sources. That proportionality applies to everything in EU law, and there have been numerous cases through the courts, national Judicial Review, and taking cases to the EU Courts of Justice. The principle is firmly enshrined. As with anything human mistakes are made, so of course there are appeals from time to time. That's how case law gets made. [0] http://fra.europa.eu/en/charterpedia/article/49-principles-legality-and-proportionality-criminal-offences-and-penalties http://fra.europa.eu/en/charterpedia/article/49-principles-l... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_principles_of_European_Union_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_principles_of_European...
      - downandout 8y ago