4 ms·

Ask HN: Are you blocking EU traffic tomorrow?

• ColinWright 8y ago
  So out of curiosity, are you looking to do this because you can't work out what is necessary, or because you choose not to comply with the requirements? Also, from some advice I've seen, if someone is actually physically based in the EU, but they access facilities over the 'net via a connection that appears to come from the USA, the person is still covered by the GDPR, and so the company providing the service, even though they can't tell that the customer is residing in the EU, might still be required to comply with the GDPR.
  • donohoe 8y ago
    You only gave me two options :) First, I am doing this because I am curious. I first looked at the 451 error code for a publisher many years ago where we were anticipating a court order banning an article in a given country. Second, I have a number of sites where we have done the work to be compliant with GDPR so thats nice. Third, there are sites where there is so many third-party scripts added over the years that it would take months to administratively figure out what is needed and what is not. They were not just added on the template level (medium/easy to clean-up) but added by individuals directly through a CMS which makes it very very hard. Its in that third case that we might be forced to have our own 451 error page (or something else) until it can be untangled. I'm an advocate of the GDPR and welcome its challenges but its technically difficult even if you mean well. I'm sympathetic to those hitting problems. To be clear, it is NOT about 'choosing to comply' or not, and saying so means you don't fully understand the technical challenges.
    • class4behavior 8y ago
      >Third, there are sites where there is so many third-party scripts added over the years that it would take months to administratively figure out what is needed and what is not. It seems you still plan to untangle that situation. So I'm curious, in your case why did you not start in 2016/17?
• andrei_says_ 8y ago
  Of course not. Counting the amount of non-compliant websites out there, the popularity of mine, the probability of being contacted by the EU enforcement agencies is close to zero. If contacted, I’d be given specific instructions and time to comply. Why would anyone block traffic?
  • dabockster 8y ago
    You could also possibly get around GDPR by telling EU citizens to use a VPN/proxy (assuming you have no physical presence in an EU country). IANAL, but I'm fairly certain you can't sue someone over an international border.
  • donohoe 8y ago
    Companies with a legal department may be forced to do so if they have ties to the EU, regardless of what business side thinks.
• throwawaymath 8y ago
  No. Brutal honesty: I have no intention of complying with GDPR. I do collect plenty of data from Europeans; but I am not a European, I do not directly use the data for commercial purposes (though I publish some of it) and I have no physical nexus in the EU. I don't know if GDPR applies to me, but I can't be bothered either way. I've seen mixed interpretations about whether or not the data I collect, and my subsequent use of it, is relevant for GDPR. I don't care enough to spare the mental overhead. I welcome Europeans to contact me under the GDPR, but I'll likely ignore them completely unless I can be convinced any possible litigation would both impact me and actually come to pass. Until I'm forced to do something, I'm not going to do anything at all about it. I don't expect that to be a popular opinion :)
  • godot 8y ago
    Isn't the fine of violation 20mil Euro or 4% annual rev, whichever is higher? That could put any side projects (or even small startups) out of business, no?
    • throwawaymath 8y ago
      Sure, and I welcome an attempt to collect that. I'm not going to hold my breath though.
      • xstartup 8y ago
        Oh, so you don't use services of a company which has to comply with EU authorities? I am pretty sure, they can freeze your AWS/GCP account.
        • throwawaymath 8y ago
          Nope. I do everything on bare metal, local to me. I guess they could squeeze my ISP, but that wouldn't be a significant business continuity problem for me. If they come after my utility/energy provider I'll be concerned.
    • ajeet_dhaliwal 8y ago