I can explain it simply to you. Only the personal data of flesh and blood human beings is protected. So contact info is protected if it is the direct email of a

I can explain it simply to you. Only the personal data of flesh and blood human beings is protected. So contact info is protected if it is the direct email of a human being. If its a huge faceless corporation and the email is just "legal@.." it is not protected. Saavy? Well its certainly beneficial for privacy. There are very few social media sites in the world where publishing other people's contact details without their permissions is allowed. Its banned here. Its banned on Reddit. And a ton of other sites. There is really very little difference. How would you feel if all HN submitters had to list a personal phone number? Why is running a website any different?