7 ms·

Are EU firms being scrutinized as much as American ones? Are these GDPR penalties on American businesses a protectionist measure by the EU?

mrtksn 4y ago
They are. Not only companies but government organizations are fined too. You can see it here: https://www.enforcementtracker.com/ https://www.enforcementtracker.com/
- tinalumfoil 4y ago
  While it's possible the US just has more tech companies, I think it should be pointed out the top fines here are to Amazon Inc, Meta Platforms Inc, Meta Platforms Inc, WhatsApp Inc (owned by Meta), Google LLC, Facebook Ireland Ltd, Google Ireland Ltd and Google.
  - mrtksn 4y ago
    Top fines are still American but definitely far from exclusive.
samizdis 4y ago
I don't know of any EU corporates with the scale, reach and depth of US corporates such as Meta, Google, Twitter et al. Their dominance globally is going to prompt GDPR scrutiny. If an EU corporate were to grow to relative relevance, I'd expect similar scrutiny. I see no protectionism, largely because there's nothing to protect.
vineyardmike 4y ago
What EU firms? The EU is starved in big tech, and doesn’t have nearly the international impact as Silicon Valley/ US. Many EU companies that get big move to the US (eg Spotify). If the EU was host to surveillance advertising I’m sure the narrative would be that companies should provide services cheaply instead for the social good. While you can have whatever opinions you want on invasive tracking tech, the reality is that the EU never had their share of profits from it and have always been more critical of US based companies. Yes they’re protectionist. Edit: it can be good for consumers and good for national protectionism. I’m not questioning if it’s good for consumers but it is definitely good for nationalism.
- science4sail 4y ago
  This is pretty similar to a common argument that we see on HN: "Apple cares more about user privacy because the bulk of their revenue comes from selling devices, not ads". The issue here is whether Apple's pivot to services and advertising revenue will corrupt their privacy protections. Similarly, we can wonder if EU privacy protections will vanish if a future adtech unicorn gets born in France or Germany.
  - 6510 4y ago
    It's not really a question if but if enough of their revenue comes from selling ads they have to push it to the legal limit. Companies are suppose to make money but do so within the law. Of course they do have to create their own policies where laws are oddly missing but I imagine more of that kind of fuzzy logic would be the last thing big tech is interested in.
  - vineyardmike 4y ago
    > The issue here is whether Apple's pivot to services and advertising revenue will corrupt their privacy protections Considering the way they treat FB data collection vs their own data collection… I’d guess yes. Apple has a not-so-subtle growth in ads that we’ve been hearing rumors about, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a suit from Eg. Facebook. Apple ads will focus on app content - which the biggest competition used to facebook. > Similarly, we can wonder if EU privacy protections will vanish if a future adtech unicorn gets born in France or Germany I think the bigger likelihood is that this cements the reality that no new ad-tech giants will emerge. If you ban geese, you’ll never get a golden one.
- clnq 4y ago
  > What EU firms? All dealing with personal data, not just tech. Hotels, hospitals, retailers, banks, government organizations, insurance brokers, education institutions, and so on.
LunaSea 4y ago
The US uses fines of EU companies as a strategic tool so I think that the EU hitting US companies with GDPR fines is fair.
WastingMyTime89 4y ago
Yawn. The US is passing straight protectionist laws and most of the American fines for embargo violations are targeting foreign companies. At this point talking about reciprocity is a joke. If the EU had modicum of a backbone, we would straight up ban American companies from sensitive markets and put tariff on the rest.

mrtksn 4y ago

They are. Not only companies but government organizations are fined too. You can see it here: https://www.enforcementtracker.com/ https://www.enforcementtracker.com/

tinalumfoil 4y ago
While it's possible the US just has more tech companies, I think it should be pointed out the top fines here are to Amazon Inc, Meta Platforms Inc, Meta Platforms Inc, WhatsApp Inc (owned by Meta), Google LLC, Facebook Ireland Ltd, Google Ireland Ltd and Google.
- mrtksn 4y ago
  Top fines are still American but definitely far from exclusive.

samizdis 4y ago

I don't know of any EU corporates with the scale, reach and depth of US corporates such as Meta, Google, Twitter et al. Their dominance globally is going to prompt GDPR scrutiny. If an EU corporate were to grow to relative relevance, I'd expect similar scrutiny. I see no protectionism, largely because there's nothing to protect.

vineyardmike 4y ago

What EU firms? The EU is starved in big tech, and doesn’t have nearly the international impact as Silicon Valley/ US. Many EU companies that get big move to the US (eg Spotify). If the EU was host to surveillance advertising I’m sure the narrative would be that companies should provide services cheaply instead for the social good. While you can have whatever opinions you want on invasive tracking tech, the reality is that the EU never had their share of profits from it and have always been more critical of US based companies. Yes they’re protectionist. Edit: it can be good for consumers and good for national protectionism. I’m not questioning if it’s good for consumers but it is definitely good for nationalism.

science4sail 4y ago
This is pretty similar to a common argument that we see on HN: "Apple cares more about user privacy because the bulk of their revenue comes from selling devices, not ads". The issue here is whether Apple's pivot to services and advertising revenue will corrupt their privacy protections. Similarly, we can wonder if EU privacy protections will vanish if a future adtech unicorn gets born in France or Germany.
- 6510 4y ago
  It's not really a question if but if enough of their revenue comes from selling ads they have to push it to the legal limit. Companies are suppose to make money but do so within the law. Of course they do have to create their own policies where laws are oddly missing but I imagine more of that kind of fuzzy logic would be the last thing big tech is interested in.
- vineyardmike 4y ago
  > The issue here is whether Apple's pivot to services and advertising revenue will corrupt their privacy protections Considering the way they treat FB data collection vs their own data collection… I’d guess yes. Apple has a not-so-subtle growth in ads that we’ve been hearing rumors about, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a suit from Eg. Facebook. Apple ads will focus on app content - which the biggest competition used to facebook. > Similarly, we can wonder if EU privacy protections will vanish if a future adtech unicorn gets born in France or Germany I think the bigger likelihood is that this cements the reality that no new ad-tech giants will emerge. If you ban geese, you’ll never get a golden one.
clnq 4y ago
> What EU firms? All dealing with personal data, not just tech. Hotels, hospitals, retailers, banks, government organizations, insurance brokers, education institutions, and so on.

LunaSea 4y ago

The US uses fines of EU companies as a strategic tool so I think that the EU hitting US companies with GDPR fines is fair.

WastingMyTime89 4y ago

Yawn. The US is passing straight protectionist laws and most of the American fines for embargo violations are targeting foreign companies. At this point talking about reciprocity is a joke. If the EU had modicum of a backbone, we would straight up ban American companies from sensitive markets and put tariff on the rest.