4 ms·

> Why does HN then get to modify titles with glorified and inaccurate regexes? In the same way HN doesn’t give you an option to delete your comments and accoun

> Why does HN then get to modify titles with glorified and inaccurate regexes? In the same way HN doesn’t give you an option to delete your comments and accounts at all. Oh yeah, there’d something like “why not email <someone at HN>”.

Cthulhu_ 3y ago
It doesn't need an option as in a button (HN doesn't seem to have developers on it), but it's required to comply with a deletion of your account under GDPR. Emailing someone is fine, after all, "do things that don't scale" is one of the known adages in this space.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- crossroadsguy 3y ago
  Fair point. That option is out there - but it is not clear. I have gone through the FAQ entry and the linked comment which talks of “shared ownership” of a thread — which, this is my guess, is implying every comment is shared. I find that troubling. I don’t think it would be too much to clearly add a sentence or few in that FAQ entry about how a person can get an account and its history erased from hn, even if its via an email (though such a button would be nice — which maybe just sends an email mentioning the hn username?) But I also acknowledge that matters of account and data deletions aren’t straightforward.
- MichaelZuo 3y ago
  How does GDPR apply to HN or Y combinator? They have no EU legal presence whatsoever last time I checked.
  - sebastiennight 3y ago
    But they have (a lot of) EU users, and they gather PII from those users (such as email, or in some cases username == first name or full name ; and profile description can contain PII ; they probably also get our IP) so they still must abide by GDPR. If you have EU users you can't hide behind "well *my* country says you can take PII and not charge VAT and not provide refunds, and I don't care about 3D Secure or DSP2 when I charge EU credit cards etc etc." You have to either comply with the law to get those users and customers, or withdraw from there. It seems logical that as a citizen of [insert country] I should be able to rely on my own country's protections against [insert risk] whether the third party is from my own land or not.
    - MichaelZuo 3y ago
      They don't have anything to withdraw?
      - sebastiennight 3y ago
        Well yes. If a company is in the US and they didn't want to abide by GDPR, then their service can simply not be available to EU users. Many US sites do that when they locate your IP in the EU. You basically get a "sorry, this is not for you" banner and you're SOL trying to get to the content
  - _Algernon_ 3y ago
    GDPR applies when you have EU users. Legal presence is irrelevant. Enforcement is obviously a different matter.
    - MichaelZuo 3y ago
      Based on what reasoning? I don't think the US has signed a treaty with the EU regarding it?
      - sebastiennight 3y ago
        We don't need you (whatever "you" means) to sign a treaty with "us" in order for "our" law to apply when you deal with "our" citizens. Sometimes there is zero leverage and "you" can't be found/sued/fined. But for large companies, there's no easy way out. That's why Meta is in hot waters ; they can't just say "oh we'll put our HQ back in California and now the EU can't say anything about how we collect data/show ads to EU users". That can't fly. Even if you made up a new country and went there (with no treaty), you'd still be outside the local law of the users you're dealing with, and there are many ways for the user's jurisdiction to apply leverage if you're enough of a big deal.
        MichaelZuo 3y ago
        > We don't need you (whatever "you" means) to sign a treaty with "us" in order for "our" law to apply when you deal with "our" citizens. Because...?
        Turing_Machine 3y ago
        > We don't need you (whatever "you" means) to sign a treaty with "us" in order for "our" law to apply when you deal with "our" citizens. "We're" not responsible for abiding by "your" laws, whether "your" citizens are involved or not. Do "you" abide by (one example among many) the US Second Amendment when "our" citizens are visiting "your" country? No, you do not. QED.
        3y ago

Cthulhu_ 3y ago

It doesn't need an option as in a button (HN doesn't seem to have developers on it), but it's required to comply with a deletion of your account under GDPR. Emailing someone is fine, after all, "do things that don't scale" is one of the known adages in this space.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
crossroadsguy 3y ago
Fair point. That option is out there - but it is not clear. I have gone through the FAQ entry and the linked comment which talks of “shared ownership” of a thread — which, this is my guess, is implying every comment is shared. I find that troubling. I don’t think it would be too much to clearly add a sentence or few in that FAQ entry about how a person can get an account and its history erased from hn, even if its via an email (though such a button would be nice — which maybe just sends an email mentioning the hn username?) But I also acknowledge that matters of account and data deletions aren’t straightforward.
MichaelZuo 3y ago
How does GDPR apply to HN or Y combinator? They have no EU legal presence whatsoever last time I checked.
- sebastiennight 3y ago
  But they have (a lot of) EU users, and they gather PII from those users (such as email, or in some cases username == first name or full name ; and profile description can contain PII ; they probably also get our IP) so they still must abide by GDPR. If you have EU users you can't hide behind "well *my* country says you can take PII and not charge VAT and not provide refunds, and I don't care about 3D Secure or DSP2 when I charge EU credit cards etc etc." You have to either comply with the law to get those users and customers, or withdraw from there. It seems logical that as a citizen of [insert country] I should be able to rely on my own country's protections against [insert risk] whether the third party is from my own land or not.
  - MichaelZuo 3y ago
    They don't have anything to withdraw?
    - sebastiennight 3y ago
      Well yes. If a company is in the US and they didn't want to abide by GDPR, then their service can simply not be available to EU users. Many US sites do that when they locate your IP in the EU. You basically get a "sorry, this is not for you" banner and you're SOL trying to get to the content
- _Algernon_ 3y ago
  GDPR applies when you have EU users. Legal presence is irrelevant. Enforcement is obviously a different matter.
  - MichaelZuo 3y ago
    Based on what reasoning? I don't think the US has signed a treaty with the EU regarding it?
    - sebastiennight 3y ago
      We don't need you (whatever "you" means) to sign a treaty with "us" in order for "our" law to apply when you deal with "our" citizens. Sometimes there is zero leverage and "you" can't be found/sued/fined. But for large companies, there's no easy way out. That's why Meta is in hot waters ; they can't just say "oh we'll put our HQ back in California and now the EU can't say anything about how we collect data/show ads to EU users". That can't fly. Even if you made up a new country and went there (with no treaty), you'd still be outside the local law of the users you're dealing with, and there are many ways for the user's jurisdiction to apply leverage if you're enough of a big deal.
      - MichaelZuo 3y ago
        > We don't need you (whatever "you" means) to sign a treaty with "us" in order for "our" law to apply when you deal with "our" citizens. Because...?
      - Turing_Machine 3y ago
        > We don't need you (whatever "you" means) to sign a treaty with "us" in order for "our" law to apply when you deal with "our" citizens. "We're" not responsible for abiding by "your" laws, whether "your" citizens are involved or not. Do "you" abide by (one example among many) the US Second Amendment when "our" citizens are visiting "your" country? No, you do not. QED.
        3y ago