3 ms·

All of these regulations impact smaller tech companies more than the big players. I've worked with literally 100 plus start-ups from seed stage all the way to p

by cm2012 3y ago

All of these regulations impact smaller tech companies more than the big players. I've worked with literally 100 plus start-ups from seed stage all the way to post IPO. About 15 of those were EU companies. From my experience, the experience of the US and EU companies is dramatically different. EU companies are at a dramatic disadvantage when it comes to promoting their products. It's much harder to track what's working and what's not, and more than that, there's a huge state of uncertainty. Dev teams don't know, for instance, whether this pixel or that server to server integration might get them in trouble for sure, so it just delays everything. So EU tech start-ups tend to languish in obscurity to a far greater degree, which means less of a feedback loop to improve the product, which overall means less tech wins in europe. Start-ups follow a power law where most fail, but 5% succeed. This means you need a lot of shots on goal. When every shot on goal takes 3x the effort and cost... It's not just tech privacy regulations by any means, but all of this together means that the gap between the US and EU continues to accelerate. See: https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/bbotjc/eu_vs_us_gdp_per_capita_adjusted_for_ppp/ https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/bbotjc/eu_vs_us_gdp... And no, I think the "privacy" gains are basically meaningless and not worth the trade-off. And I would bet $100 any time that by 2030 that gap will continue to grow at the same rate.

AlecSchueler 3y ago
Every regulation in same says hinders business. We don't need to get into a race to the bottom just because other countries sacrifice consumer privacy for the good of their corporations. I've also worked at startups both side of the Atlantic and I slept a lot better following EU regs, without the dirty feeling of having written scripts to creep on vulnerable people for the benefit of the company that was increasing their cost of living and treating them like statistical cattle.
- dmix 3y ago
  I'd bet a ton of EU programmers would have preferred staying in EU to work because there's actually jobs there. Or jobs that don't just pay $75k. It's not just privacy regulations hurting EU, those are easier to defend, it's the general deep rooted nature which makes that the automatic solution to every single problem without regard for the bigger picture. And those policies are always a one way street whether it benefited every one or not in retrospect. What's the end goal? A perfectly regulated, moral economy that never grows and relies on immigrants to stabilize GDP numbers? If these new regs also came at the same pace as reforms for previous ones that actively hurt these countries it'd be way easier to agree with as a general rule. Instead it's just another one thrown on the pile and the only new jobs are for administrators to enforce them.
dmix 3y ago
> All of these regulations impact smaller tech companies more than the big players. It's also often of questionable value. Attacking cookie banners on HN was taboo for years but while they allegedly helped protect our privacy, targeted advertising immediately adapted - and yet in 2023 - every user continues to be burdened with the casino of modal boxes (they are never the same place or colours or labels) on every website (not just EU users), hoping they get one with a clear "reject all" button so it goes away the fastest, rarely because they care about the implications.
- LelouBil 3y ago
  to be fair, the "casino of modal boxes" is not GDPR compliant. The GDPR says refusing non essential cookies should be as easy as accepting them. Enforcement is happening for cases like this, but it is very slow....

by cm2012 3y ago

AlecSchueler 3y ago

Every regulation in same says hinders business. We don't need to get into a race to the bottom just because other countries sacrifice consumer privacy for the good of their corporations. I've also worked at startups both side of the Atlantic and I slept a lot better following EU regs, without the dirty feeling of having written scripts to creep on vulnerable people for the benefit of the company that was increasing their cost of living and treating them like statistical cattle.

dmix 3y ago
I'd bet a ton of EU programmers would have preferred staying in EU to work because there's actually jobs there. Or jobs that don't just pay $75k. It's not just privacy regulations hurting EU, those are easier to defend, it's the general deep rooted nature which makes that the automatic solution to every single problem without regard for the bigger picture. And those policies are always a one way street whether it benefited every one or not in retrospect. What's the end goal? A perfectly regulated, moral economy that never grows and relies on immigrants to stabilize GDP numbers? If these new regs also came at the same pace as reforms for previous ones that actively hurt these countries it'd be way easier to agree with as a general rule. Instead it's just another one thrown on the pile and the only new jobs are for administrators to enforce them.

dmix 3y ago

> All of these regulations impact smaller tech companies more than the big players. It's also often of questionable value. Attacking cookie banners on HN was taboo for years but while they allegedly helped protect our privacy, targeted advertising immediately adapted - and yet in 2023 - every user continues to be burdened with the casino of modal boxes (they are never the same place or colours or labels) on every website (not just EU users), hoping they get one with a clear "reject all" button so it goes away the fastest, rarely because they care about the implications.

LelouBil 3y ago
to be fair, the "casino of modal boxes" is not GDPR compliant. The GDPR says refusing non essential cookies should be as easy as accepting them. Enforcement is happening for cases like this, but it is very slow....