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> It's a foreign requirement that feels like a violation of sovereignty. Sure, if you cater to users in your own country. If you cater (read: deal with data) t

> It's a foreign requirement that feels like a violation of sovereignty. Sure, if you cater to users in your own country. If you cater (read: deal with data) to users from the EU, you should follow local consumer protection laws. EU laws have always been more strict than US privacy laws: This caused unfair competition, where US companies were free to export their privacy-damaging business model overseas, while local companies were forced to respect privacy. Respecting privacy is just not very competitive/profitable at the moment. Your viewpoint pushed to the extreme (sorry if you don't recognize your original view): China selling counterfeit goods or unsafe toys to the US, and feeling like any push-back is messing with their sovereignty of lax copyright -, trademark -, and health laws.

eli 8y ago
What does it mean for a website to "cater" to just my home country? The internet doesn't know political boundaries and most sites cater to all visitors on some marginal level.
- takeitto 8y ago
  The internet doesn't know, but e-commerce/data business pretty darn well knows where their customers/users are situated. The old web was mostly static websites. We spoke of visitors. The new web is app-ified/interactive, walled off to logged-in agreement-abiding geolocated users, and even a single logged-out "visit" broadcasts this to 100s of trackers who will remember your every move online.
  - eli 8y ago
    Odds are whatever you were using on the old web to measure visitors would be a data processing activity under GDPR.
    - ForHackernews 8y ago
      If you aren't collecting and storing PII, you have nothing to fear from the GDPR. Even if you are, you're fine as long as you only collect what you legitimately need to offer your services.
      - brassattax 8y ago
        including targeted advertising campaigns?
        ForHackernews 8y ago
        IANAL, but if your company is a targeted marketing company (think Groupon) and users sign up explicitly to get sent offers, then you're probably in the clear. If your company offers some other service, but you also want to sell your users' data for targeted marketing, the GDPR requires you ask for and get real consent.
- askmike 8y ago
  Most websites are products nowadays. If you have a simple blog without trackers and ads this is really not going to effect you that much. > The internet doesn't know political boundaries Tell that to this US law the whole world has to comply with to called DMCA.
  - eli 8y ago
    Even my simple blog with no ads has google analytics on it. I don't feel like I was doing anything wrong or abusive, but I guess there's a case to be made. I assure you I have been against the DMCA since before it passed, though I don't think it's quite the same nor do two wrongs make a right.
    - ForHackernews 8y ago
      Maybe you aren't, but Google probably is. You're helping Google monitor individuals everywhere they go online.
      - deleted 8y ago
        [deleted]
    - AnaniasAnanas 8y ago
      > Even my simple blog with no ads has google analytics on it. I would suggest that you remove google analytics then. It only causes harm.
  - manfredo 8y ago
    > Tell that to this US law the whole world has to comply to called DMCA. If a site has no US presence and blocks all users in the US, what negative repercussion can violating the DMCA incur? Maybe their domain can be siezed, but that can be avoided by not having a domain hosted in the US. The US could block all traffic to the site, but that should be moot if the site has no US users.
    - isostatic 8y ago
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
agensaequivocum 8y ago
>Sure, if you cater to users in your own country. If you cater (read: deal with data) to users from the EU, you should follow local consumer protection laws. If I have a brick and mortar business in the US and some one from the EU decides to do business, do I have to follow EU consumer protection laws? Unless I have an physical presence in the EU why should I have to follow their regulations? Further, why cannot the EU just allow its citizens just do business with other extra-national companies if they choose to? Meaning, if an EU citizen chooses to do business with a non-GDPR compliant website, why does the EU care? >EU laws have always been more strict than US privacy laws: This caused unfair competition, where US companies were free to export their privacy-damaging business model overseas, while local companies were forced to respect privacy. Respecting privacy is just not very competitive/profitable at the moment. So what? If the EU wants to stifle competition, why should the US care. They are only hurting themselves.
- geocar 8y ago
  > If I have a brick and mortar business in the US and some one from the EU decides to do business, do I have to follow EU consumer protection laws? Unless I have an physical presence in the EU why should I have to follow their regulations? You don't. If they're not In The Union, and you're not In The Union, then you're not required to comply with the GDPR. > Further, why cannot the EU just allow its citizens just do business with other extra-national companies if they choose to? Meaning, if an EU citizen chooses to do business with a non-GDPR compliant website, why does the EU care? It's impossible to give consent for something if you don't fully understand the ramifications of what you're consenting to[1]. [1]: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/17/us/politics/cambridge-analytica-trump-campaign.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/17/us/politics/cambridge-ana...
meko 8y ago
I find it odd that people take issue with regulation, perhaps its been ingrained into the cultural consciousness of the west that regulation is always bad, but historical analysis shows that regulation has always had an overwhelmingly net positive effect for the members of a given society. You can link the stage of a country's development to how effective their government is in protecting it's constituents.
- JBSay 8y ago
  Aww that's cute!

eli 8y ago

What does it mean for a website to "cater" to just my home country? The internet doesn't know political boundaries and most sites cater to all visitors on some marginal level.

takeitto 8y ago
The internet doesn't know, but e-commerce/data business pretty darn well knows where their customers/users are situated. The old web was mostly static websites. We spoke of visitors. The new web is app-ified/interactive, walled off to logged-in agreement-abiding geolocated users, and even a single logged-out "visit" broadcasts this to 100s of trackers who will remember your every move online.
- eli 8y ago
  Odds are whatever you were using on the old web to measure visitors would be a data processing activity under GDPR.
  - ForHackernews 8y ago
    If you aren't collecting and storing PII, you have nothing to fear from the GDPR. Even if you are, you're fine as long as you only collect what you legitimately need to offer your services.
    - brassattax 8y ago
      including targeted advertising campaigns?
      - ForHackernews 8y ago
        IANAL, but if your company is a targeted marketing company (think Groupon) and users sign up explicitly to get sent offers, then you're probably in the clear. If your company offers some other service, but you also want to sell your users' data for targeted marketing, the GDPR requires you ask for and get real consent.
askmike 8y ago
Most websites are products nowadays. If you have a simple blog without trackers and ads this is really not going to effect you that much. > The internet doesn't know political boundaries Tell that to this US law the whole world has to comply with to called DMCA.
- eli 8y ago
  Even my simple blog with no ads has google analytics on it. I don't feel like I was doing anything wrong or abusive, but I guess there's a case to be made. I assure you I have been against the DMCA since before it passed, though I don't think it's quite the same nor do two wrongs make a right.
  - ForHackernews 8y ago
    Maybe you aren't, but Google probably is. You're helping Google monitor individuals everywhere they go online.
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
  - AnaniasAnanas 8y ago
    > Even my simple blog with no ads has google analytics on it. I would suggest that you remove google analytics then. It only causes harm.
- manfredo 8y ago
  > Tell that to this US law the whole world has to comply to called DMCA. If a site has no US presence and blocks all users in the US, what negative repercussion can violating the DMCA incur? Maybe their domain can be siezed, but that can be avoided by not having a domain hosted in the US. The US could block all traffic to the site, but that should be moot if the site has no US users.
  - isostatic 8y ago

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

agensaequivocum 8y ago

>Sure, if you cater to users in your own country. If you cater (read: deal with data) to users from the EU, you should follow local consumer protection laws. If I have a brick and mortar business in the US and some one from the EU decides to do business, do I have to follow EU consumer protection laws? Unless I have an physical presence in the EU why should I have to follow their regulations? Further, why cannot the EU just allow its citizens just do business with other extra-national companies if they choose to? Meaning, if an EU citizen chooses to do business with a non-GDPR compliant website, why does the EU care? >EU laws have always been more strict than US privacy laws: This caused unfair competition, where US companies were free to export their privacy-damaging business model overseas, while local companies were forced to respect privacy. Respecting privacy is just not very competitive/profitable at the moment. So what? If the EU wants to stifle competition, why should the US care. They are only hurting themselves.

geocar 8y ago
> If I have a brick and mortar business in the US and some one from the EU decides to do business, do I have to follow EU consumer protection laws? Unless I have an physical presence in the EU why should I have to follow their regulations? You don't. If they're not In The Union, and you're not In The Union, then you're not required to comply with the GDPR. > Further, why cannot the EU just allow its citizens just do business with other extra-national companies if they choose to? Meaning, if an EU citizen chooses to do business with a non-GDPR compliant website, why does the EU care? It's impossible to give consent for something if you don't fully understand the ramifications of what you're consenting to[1]. [1]: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/17/us/politics/cambridge-analytica-trump-campaign.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/17/us/politics/cambridge-ana...

meko 8y ago

I find it odd that people take issue with regulation, perhaps its been ingrained into the cultural consciousness of the west that regulation is always bad, but historical analysis shows that regulation has always had an overwhelmingly net positive effect for the members of a given society. You can link the stage of a country's development to how effective their government is in protecting it's constituents.

JBSay 8y ago
Aww that's cute!