7 ms·

Data protection we do need indeed, but the EU is the last entity I want to be emulating on internet laws, except maybe China.

akuji1993 8y ago
I just love having internet laws written by people who can't use a computer without help. Makes so much sense...
- toyg 8y ago
  Do you actually know any MEP? The younger generations are less stupid than you might think. Politics is a slow game, the people who grew up with Windows 95 are only now starting to get elected.
  - lowry 8y ago
    In the current legislature, there is one former software programmer MEP and a Linus's uncle, who is not a programmer but knows a bit about software. There's also Julia Reda, but she is really just a filesharer and a politician.
    - pavlov 8y ago
      Small correction: Finnish MEP Nils Torvalds is actually Linus’s dad.
    - toyg 8y ago
      I know Elly Schlein is switched on, although she works mostly on non-IT topics. I'm sure there are many others.
- simion314 8y ago
  Is something wrong with the data protections laws that apply to medical data? Those could be expanded for all private data.
- NeedMoreTea 8y ago
  Like a 35 year old with a degree in information and communications technology law? Seems like he might possibly have encountered a computer or two given his special interests https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Philipp_Albrecht https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Philipp_Albrecht As well as GDPR, which is one of the better IT related laws, he has sensible views on mass surveillance.
not_kurt_godel 8y ago
What specifically do you take exception to with regard to GDPR/EU Internet laws? Having hands-on experience with compliance, I find GDPR to be quite reasonable - if anything, I'd say it's overly lax with regards to deletion of data that's not visible to the user (i.e. logs, 'shadow profiles', etc.).
- simplecomplex 8y ago
  What material harm or damage to you or your person did you experience prior to GDPR that GDPR has prevented or compensated for?
  - not_kurt_godel 8y ago
    What material harm or damage would you suffer if I snooped on all of your Internet browsing activity with the knowledge of who you are in real life and kept that information around forever to use for whatever purposes I so choose?
    - simplecomplex 8y ago
      Straw man. That’s not analogous to what was being discussed. A better analogy is: HN can see my email because I gave it to them to login. I don’t need to request what HN is doing with my email, because I already know I gave it to them. Giving them my email doesn’t harm me. Using it to do something illegal might, but the GDPR wouldn’t be able to stop that.
      - not_kurt_godel 8y ago
        You misunderstand how third-party cookies & tracking work. You also misunderstand the intent of the legislation if you think GDPR is about preventing 'illegal' things. It's about protecting individual citizens' sovereignty and privacy.
- aerovistae 8y ago
  Maybe GDPR is okay, I'm not terribly well informed about it. But every couple weeks the entire internet is up in arms against a new attempt by the EU to censor the entire internet, and I've been dealing for too long with the damn "We use cookies" pop-up they ignorantly required. So I'm just saying their track record isn't great.
snaky 8y ago
That's acute, considering there's at least a couple of major competitors in every area of Chinese internet economy, unlike the Google, Facebook, YouTube and Amazon de-facto monopoly.

akuji1993 8y ago

I just love having internet laws written by people who can't use a computer without help. Makes so much sense...

toyg 8y ago
Do you actually know any MEP? The younger generations are less stupid than you might think. Politics is a slow game, the people who grew up with Windows 95 are only now starting to get elected.
- lowry 8y ago
  In the current legislature, there is one former software programmer MEP and a Linus's uncle, who is not a programmer but knows a bit about software. There's also Julia Reda, but she is really just a filesharer and a politician.
  - pavlov 8y ago
    Small correction: Finnish MEP Nils Torvalds is actually Linus’s dad.
  - toyg 8y ago
    I know Elly Schlein is switched on, although she works mostly on non-IT topics. I'm sure there are many others.
simion314 8y ago
Is something wrong with the data protections laws that apply to medical data? Those could be expanded for all private data.
NeedMoreTea 8y ago
Like a 35 year old with a degree in information and communications technology law? Seems like he might possibly have encountered a computer or two given his special interests https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Philipp_Albrecht https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Philipp_Albrecht As well as GDPR, which is one of the better IT related laws, he has sensible views on mass surveillance.

not_kurt_godel 8y ago

What specifically do you take exception to with regard to GDPR/EU Internet laws? Having hands-on experience with compliance, I find GDPR to be quite reasonable - if anything, I'd say it's overly lax with regards to deletion of data that's not visible to the user (i.e. logs, 'shadow profiles', etc.).

simplecomplex 8y ago
What material harm or damage to you or your person did you experience prior to GDPR that GDPR has prevented or compensated for?
- not_kurt_godel 8y ago
  What material harm or damage would you suffer if I snooped on all of your Internet browsing activity with the knowledge of who you are in real life and kept that information around forever to use for whatever purposes I so choose?
  - simplecomplex 8y ago
    Straw man. That’s not analogous to what was being discussed. A better analogy is: HN can see my email because I gave it to them to login. I don’t need to request what HN is doing with my email, because I already know I gave it to them. Giving them my email doesn’t harm me. Using it to do something illegal might, but the GDPR wouldn’t be able to stop that.
    - not_kurt_godel 8y ago
      You misunderstand how third-party cookies & tracking work. You also misunderstand the intent of the legislation if you think GDPR is about preventing 'illegal' things. It's about protecting individual citizens' sovereignty and privacy.
aerovistae 8y ago
Maybe GDPR is okay, I'm not terribly well informed about it. But every couple weeks the entire internet is up in arms against a new attempt by the EU to censor the entire internet, and I've been dealing for too long with the damn "We use cookies" pop-up they ignorantly required. So I'm just saying their track record isn't great.

snaky 8y ago

That's acute, considering there's at least a couple of major competitors in every area of Chinese internet economy, unlike the Google, Facebook, YouTube and Amazon de-facto monopoly.