3 ms·

At some point would be cheaper to just block access from whole Europe than complying with their laws. The worst part is that a lot of politicians in other count

At some point would be cheaper to just block access from whole Europe than complying with their laws. The worst part is that a lot of politicians in other countries are just copying the EU tech legislation, instead of trying to produce something better.

ClumsyPilot 4y ago
So every 2 weeks i read posts like this, 'Company X will just quit" if they have to pay tax/comply with some law/ follow basic decency But it never happens. The only example is Google leaving China because of authoritarianism. And now they are back. Maybe it can happen to a tiny country. But do you actually imagine that the entire 17 trillion economy of EU will be left without software? Companies do not 'just quit' huge markets. They don't leave money on the table.
- estebarb 4y ago
  Big companies obviously no. But a bootstrapped startup? Probably yes, at least initially. And here we are not talking about "basic decency" or taxes. The audit requirements by the new EU law are extremely expensive. They assume that every software developer is BigCo. I don't see that the EU is requesting every tabloid article to be fully audited to remove false claims or that each medical decision must be audited. The requirement is disproportional.
  - 908B64B197 4y ago
    This is by design. The regulatory burden is so disproportionate that only a few large companies can operate following all the regulations and arbitrary rules set by the Europeans unelected bureaucrats. In turn, large companies raise their prices, but it doesn't matter because they are the only game in town left since smaller companies simply can't compete. So the European consumer ends up paying for all the extra compliance through less competition while the bureaucrats pat themselves on the back and politicians keep getting "big victory" against the "evil foreing tech giants".

3 ms·

At some point would be cheaper to just block access from whole Europe than complying with their laws. The worst part is that a lot of politicians in other count

by estebarb 4y ago

ClumsyPilot 4y ago
So every 2 weeks i read posts like this, 'Company X will just quit" if they have to pay tax/comply with some law/ follow basic decency But it never happens. The only example is Google leaving China because of authoritarianism. And now they are back. Maybe it can happen to a tiny country. But do you actually imagine that the entire 17 trillion economy of EU will be left without software? Companies do not 'just quit' huge markets. They don't leave money on the table.
- estebarb 4y ago
  Big companies obviously no. But a bootstrapped startup? Probably yes, at least initially. And here we are not talking about "basic decency" or taxes. The audit requirements by the new EU law are extremely expensive. They assume that every software developer is BigCo. I don't see that the EU is requesting every tabloid article to be fully audited to remove false claims or that each medical decision must be audited. The requirement is disproportional.
  - 908B64B197 4y ago
    This is by design. The regulatory burden is so disproportionate that only a few large companies can operate following all the regulations and arbitrary rules set by the Europeans unelected bureaucrats. In turn, large companies raise their prices, but it doesn't matter because they are the only game in town left since smaller companies simply can't compete. So the European consumer ends up paying for all the extra compliance through less competition while the bureaucrats pat themselves on the back and politicians keep getting "big victory" against the "evil foreing tech giants".