4 ms·

How about you respond to the example I gave which is more analogous. The GDPR doesn't only apply to commerce sites.

pier25 4y ago
My point wasn't about selling products but about a foreign company having some activity in the EU. I agree with you the EU is probably not going to prosecute you, but that doesn't mean it's legal.
- PrimeMcFly 4y ago
  So I ask you again, are China's censorship laws enforceable in France just because they say they are? If you don't think that analogy is accurate, can you explain why?
  - pier25 4y ago
    IANAL but it seems like a totally different scenario. Regarding the censorship, obviously the laws apply inside Chinese territory. France is not China so the laws do not apply. But regarding GDPR, the EU user is still inside EU territory when visiting your website and giving you his personal data. If this user was, I don't know, in Indonesia while visiting your website, then Indonesian laws would probably apply. Which is why the analogy of a foreign company doing some activity in the EU (like selling a product) seems more apt. Again, IANAL and this is just my superficial impression.
    - PrimeMcFly 4y ago
      > Regarding the censorship, obviously the laws apply inside Chinese territory. France is not China so the laws do not apply. This is exactly my point! EU laws apply within the EU. The US is not the EU, so EU laws do not apply. > Again, IANAL and this is just my superficial impression. Fair enough, I see your position now, thank you for explaining. I think it's a pretty terrible precedent to try and enforce laws from the visitor's country on to the hosting providers country though. It's not that far-fetched to think some countries with poor human rights records could post some laws that would work the same way you describe, and I don't think you would want them upheld. The only thing that makes sense to me is enforcing laws for users within their own borders, and same for hosts. If the EU doesn't like something outside of their control, they should setup the Great European Firewall.
      - pier25 4y ago
        Honestly, you might be right. This website tracks the GDPR fines and there are no US companies in it. https://www.enforcementtracker.com/ https://www.enforcementtracker.com/ Ireland is the biggest one in terms of money fined because Google etc have their subsidiaries incorporated there. But I don't see any fines directly to a US company.
        PrimeMcFly 4y ago
        My real issue with such legislation like that (assuming I do have a point), is that it lessons the seriousness and impact of the legislation. If it can't be enforced uniformly, then it's fine for people to not take it seriously, or for it to be enforced selectively, both of which I think are problems.

My point wasn't about selling products but about a foreign company having some activity in the EU. I agree with you the EU is probably not going to prosecute you, but that doesn't mean it's legal.

PrimeMcFly 4y ago
So I ask you again, are China's censorship laws enforceable in France just because they say they are? If you don't think that analogy is accurate, can you explain why?
- pier25 4y ago
  IANAL but it seems like a totally different scenario. Regarding the censorship, obviously the laws apply inside Chinese territory. France is not China so the laws do not apply. But regarding GDPR, the EU user is still inside EU territory when visiting your website and giving you his personal data. If this user was, I don't know, in Indonesia while visiting your website, then Indonesian laws would probably apply. Which is why the analogy of a foreign company doing some activity in the EU (like selling a product) seems more apt. Again, IANAL and this is just my superficial impression.
  - PrimeMcFly 4y ago
    > Regarding the censorship, obviously the laws apply inside Chinese territory. France is not China so the laws do not apply. This is exactly my point! EU laws apply within the EU. The US is not the EU, so EU laws do not apply. > Again, IANAL and this is just my superficial impression. Fair enough, I see your position now, thank you for explaining. I think it's a pretty terrible precedent to try and enforce laws from the visitor's country on to the hosting providers country though. It's not that far-fetched to think some countries with poor human rights records could post some laws that would work the same way you describe, and I don't think you would want them upheld. The only thing that makes sense to me is enforcing laws for users within their own borders, and same for hosts. If the EU doesn't like something outside of their control, they should setup the Great European Firewall.
    - pier25 4y ago
      Honestly, you might be right. This website tracks the GDPR fines and there are no US companies in it. https://www.enforcementtracker.com/ https://www.enforcementtracker.com/ Ireland is the biggest one in terms of money fined because Google etc have their subsidiaries incorporated there. But I don't see any fines directly to a US company.
      - PrimeMcFly 4y ago
        My real issue with such legislation like that (assuming I do have a point), is that it lessons the seriousness and impact of the legislation. If it can't be enforced uniformly, then it's fine for people to not take it seriously, or for it to be enforced selectively, both of which I think are problems.