3 ms·

I don't think he's lying. But the reasons he wants GDPR are probably just as calculating as you would expect: 1. They already had to do most of this work for

by tarr11 8y ago

I don't think he's lying. But the reasons he wants GDPR are probably just as calculating as you would expect: 1. They already had to do most of this work for GDPR already so the cost will be lower 2. By saying this, he can be invited to meet with legislators who will shape the law. 3. Smaller competitors or startups will be discouraged from entering the market due to an increased regulatory environment (similar to PCI) it's still probably a good idea but skepticism (and even cynicism) is certainly warranted

3pt14159 8y ago
There are three reasons in addition: 1. Insulating himself from future lawsuits. Judges look very favourably towards corporations that try to work with regulators before a crisis. 2. Legislating a fix reduces market demand for a technical fix. Imagine a world where a competitive platform to the internet / the web arises. In such a case if the public feels safe because of legislation then they're less likely to abandon the previous web. 3. Realistically speaking any action that would be devastating for Salesforce would be devastating for the US economy / intelligence apparatus; so either way there is going to be some measure of tracking for some amount of time. The real issue that Saleforce needs to handle is to ensure that it's ahead of its competitors and to do that it needs to see where the regulatory environment is going and plan its strategy around that.
- curun1r 8y ago
  > ...would be devastating for Salesforce would be devastating for the US ... intelligence apparatus GDPR exempts law enforcement and the court system so I'm not sure why we'd expect US legislation to be any different.
  - 3pt14159 8y ago
    Much of the data that our intelligence agencies collect is through collaboration with private industry. If Salesforce employs hundreds of people to clean up data then that (and other companies like them) going away would make a measurable difference to what the intelligence agencies are capable of doing.

by tarr11 8y ago

3pt14159 8y ago

There are three reasons in addition: 1. Insulating himself from future lawsuits. Judges look very favourably towards corporations that try to work with regulators before a crisis. 2. Legislating a fix reduces market demand for a technical fix. Imagine a world where a competitive platform to the internet / the web arises. In such a case if the public feels safe because of legislation then they're less likely to abandon the previous web. 3. Realistically speaking any action that would be devastating for Salesforce would be devastating for the US economy / intelligence apparatus; so either way there is going to be some measure of tracking for some amount of time. The real issue that Saleforce needs to handle is to ensure that it's ahead of its competitors and to do that it needs to see where the regulatory environment is going and plan its strategy around that.

curun1r 8y ago
> ...would be devastating for Salesforce would be devastating for the US ... intelligence apparatus GDPR exempts law enforcement and the court system so I'm not sure why we'd expect US legislation to be any different.
- 3pt14159 8y ago
  Much of the data that our intelligence agencies collect is through collaboration with private industry. If Salesforce employs hundreds of people to clean up data then that (and other companies like them) going away would make a measurable difference to what the intelligence agencies are capable of doing.