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>users now routinely consent This is a weakness of the regulation, not an issue with the concept of regulation. There should be a much clearer ban on applying

>users now routinely consent This is a weakness of the regulation, not an issue with the concept of regulation. There should be a much clearer ban on applying these dark patterns to trick people into consenting.

marginalia_nu 3y ago
It's arguably a problem with the enforcement not keeping up. Many of these practices are in pretty clear violation of the GDPR. The wheels of justice turn slowly, but time and time again these practices have been deemed illegal, in no small part due to the legal hijinx of Max Schrems.
varispeed 3y ago
Consider this alternative perspective: large corporations that profit from user data might have found themselves in a tricky position, facing potential lawsuits and lacking a clear framework to legitimise their data collection practices. Perhaps GDPR came into existence partly as a solution to this issue. One could argue that its design started from a premise to make data collection and trade more manageable for big corporations, but then was reverse-engineered to present it as a policy protecting people's privacy. This way, the EU could maintain its image as a protector of citizens' rights, while simultaneously assuaging public concerns over data security. This could result in individuals being more willing to consent to data collection. A significant contributing factor to this could be the EU's 'Cookie Law', which may have conditioned users to automatically agree to pop-ups without thoroughly understanding what they're consenting to. While this perspective may sound cynical, it's worth considering that regulatory decisions can have complex motivations and implications, often beyond the most apparent intent to do good.
- MereInterest 3y ago
  > lacking a clear framework to legitimise their data collection practices Why should that be a goal of the legislation at all? The design of the GDPR makes their business model illegal, in the same way that the design of the EPA makes chemical dumping illegal. Providing a path to legitimize their data collection would be contrary to the goal of stopping their data collection.

marginalia_nu 3y ago

It's arguably a problem with the enforcement not keeping up. Many of these practices are in pretty clear violation of the GDPR. The wheels of justice turn slowly, but time and time again these practices have been deemed illegal, in no small part due to the legal hijinx of Max Schrems.

varispeed 3y ago

Consider this alternative perspective: large corporations that profit from user data might have found themselves in a tricky position, facing potential lawsuits and lacking a clear framework to legitimise their data collection practices. Perhaps GDPR came into existence partly as a solution to this issue. One could argue that its design started from a premise to make data collection and trade more manageable for big corporations, but then was reverse-engineered to present it as a policy protecting people's privacy. This way, the EU could maintain its image as a protector of citizens' rights, while simultaneously assuaging public concerns over data security. This could result in individuals being more willing to consent to data collection. A significant contributing factor to this could be the EU's 'Cookie Law', which may have conditioned users to automatically agree to pop-ups without thoroughly understanding what they're consenting to. While this perspective may sound cynical, it's worth considering that regulatory decisions can have complex motivations and implications, often beyond the most apparent intent to do good.

MereInterest 3y ago
> lacking a clear framework to legitimise their data collection practices Why should that be a goal of the legislation at all? The design of the GDPR makes their business model illegal, in the same way that the design of the EPA makes chemical dumping illegal. Providing a path to legitimize their data collection would be contrary to the goal of stopping their data collection.