4 ms·

So the GDPR was vague, and while I would say poorly written, many have claimed that the EU will focus more on the spirit of the law vs the law itself. Anyone r

by dahdum 8y ago

So the GDPR was vague, and while I would say poorly written, many have claimed that the EU will focus more on the spirit of the law vs the law itself. Anyone really believe they’ll litigate against companies that block them entirely? That want nothing to do with the EU market as a result of this law? I seriously doubt it, but this is a great example of the 2 years of legal arguments and debates happening in companies because of GDPR.

JumpCrisscross 8y ago
> Anyone really believe they’ll litigate against companies that block them entirely? All it takes is a single populist data regulator in one of the EU's twenty-eight members,. Will they win? I don't think so. But in the meantime, you'll be dragged through costly regulatory negotiations. Those negotiations would become much more expensive if one had any European users.
- dasil003 8y ago
  How will they do that to a company that has no presence in that country and is actively blocking any access from that country?
  - JumpCrisscross 8y ago
    > How will they do that to a company that has no presence in that country and is actively blocking any access from that country? One of the EU's twenty-eight members will try to extradite an American executive. That will be shot down by U.S. courts. We'll throw tariffs at each other for a few months until whatever administration that happens under negotiates a compromise.
    - wtfstatists 8y ago
      There is no extradition in civil offences. For example extradition under Europe Arrest Warrant require criminal offence carrying maximum panelty of >=1 year [1]. GDPR only fines and sanctions. Dont hold EU assets and you would be ok. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Arrest_Warrant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Arrest_Warrant
- dahdum 8y ago
  Allowing 28 separate, politically diverse and motivated data regulators to litigate a vague law against publicly unpopular multinationals is a recipe for capricious and arbitrary action, but I believe that was rather the intent. Litigating on this particular issue would be an incredible stretch though. Offends basic sense of fair play imo. If Turkey gets EU membership, it would be a hoot to see how Erdogan uses this law.
  - JumpCrisscross 8y ago
    > Litigating on this particular issue would be an incredible stretch At least litigation has a clear end. The problem is more endless requests for information, each requiring research and drafting by expensive EU lawyers. A burden irrespective of whether you did anything wrong.
  - amarkov 8y ago
    I mean, each EU member already had the right to litigate vague data privacy laws if they wanted to.
apocalyptic0n3 8y ago
I only have basic knowledge of the law (I'm in the US) and I'm curious. If you're not operating at all in the EU and outright block EU IP ranges, can the EU take any action against you if an EU citizen manages to access the site and you do not comply with GDPR? Surely that is out of their jurisdiction, right? I have US-only clients currently freaking out because they think they are going to be sued into oblivion, but I can't imagine they have anything to worry about (we've been giving them the whole "we can't provide legal advice, talk to your lawyer about what you need to do and we'll work with you to make it happen" line)
ForHackernews 8y ago
> 2 years of legal arguments and debates happening in companies because of GDPR. That's seriously optimistic. From what I can tell, most companies realized about a week and a half ago that this was going to be an issue and freaked the hell out. I'm still getting a stready stream of better-late-than-never GDPR emails.
- dahdum 8y ago
  Large ones certainly, small ones kicked the can out of ignorance or just waiting for consensus to develop. That articles like this are so popular show how muddled the consensus still is.

by dahdum 8y ago

JumpCrisscross 8y ago

> Anyone really believe they’ll litigate against companies that block them entirely? All it takes is a single populist data regulator in one of the EU's twenty-eight members,. Will they win? I don't think so. But in the meantime, you'll be dragged through costly regulatory negotiations. Those negotiations would become much more expensive if one had any European users.

dasil003 8y ago
How will they do that to a company that has no presence in that country and is actively blocking any access from that country?
- JumpCrisscross 8y ago
  > How will they do that to a company that has no presence in that country and is actively blocking any access from that country? One of the EU's twenty-eight members will try to extradite an American executive. That will be shot down by U.S. courts. We'll throw tariffs at each other for a few months until whatever administration that happens under negotiates a compromise.
  - wtfstatists 8y ago
    There is no extradition in civil offences. For example extradition under Europe Arrest Warrant require criminal offence carrying maximum panelty of >=1 year [1]. GDPR only fines and sanctions. Dont hold EU assets and you would be ok. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Arrest_Warrant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Arrest_Warrant
dahdum 8y ago
Allowing 28 separate, politically diverse and motivated data regulators to litigate a vague law against publicly unpopular multinationals is a recipe for capricious and arbitrary action, but I believe that was rather the intent. Litigating on this particular issue would be an incredible stretch though. Offends basic sense of fair play imo. If Turkey gets EU membership, it would be a hoot to see how Erdogan uses this law.
- JumpCrisscross 8y ago
  > Litigating on this particular issue would be an incredible stretch At least litigation has a clear end. The problem is more endless requests for information, each requiring research and drafting by expensive EU lawyers. A burden irrespective of whether you did anything wrong.
- amarkov 8y ago
  I mean, each EU member already had the right to litigate vague data privacy laws if they wanted to.

apocalyptic0n3 8y ago

I only have basic knowledge of the law (I'm in the US) and I'm curious. If you're not operating at all in the EU and outright block EU IP ranges, can the EU take any action against you if an EU citizen manages to access the site and you do not comply with GDPR? Surely that is out of their jurisdiction, right? I have US-only clients currently freaking out because they think they are going to be sued into oblivion, but I can't imagine they have anything to worry about (we've been giving them the whole "we can't provide legal advice, talk to your lawyer about what you need to do and we'll work with you to make it happen" line)

ForHackernews 8y ago

> 2 years of legal arguments and debates happening in companies because of GDPR. That's seriously optimistic. From what I can tell, most companies realized about a week and a half ago that this was going to be an issue and freaked the hell out. I'm still getting a stready stream of better-late-than-never GDPR emails.

dahdum 8y ago
Large ones certainly, small ones kicked the can out of ignorance or just waiting for consensus to develop. That articles like this are so popular show how muddled the consensus still is.