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> “Applying for a job or apartment or anything today means creating endless pointless copies of your pesonal information in databases across the world that will
by pavlov 1y ago
> “Applying for a job or apartment or anything today means creating endless pointless copies of your pesonal information in databases across the world that will eventually be neglected, hacked, exploited, sold off etc”
This problem is practically fixed in the EU (to the extent that legislation can fix it). Data protection laws have enough teeth that real companies can’t afford to keep or sell customer information illegally.
But people only see the tip of the iceberg and think EU data protection is something to do with annoying cookie banners. We need to do a better job of celebrating Europe’s real achievements in making the digital world better for its citizens. Instant zero-fee bank transfers are another example.
- coldtea 1y ago>This problem is practically fixed in the EU (to the extent that legislation can fix it). Data protection laws have enough teeth that real companies can’t afford to keep or sell customer information illegally Not even close to the case for any big player. It just exists as a moat for smaller companies.
- IsTom 1y agohttps://www.enforcementtracker.com/ https://www.enforcementtracker.com/ and sort by amount, these are not small companies and amounts aren't exactly trivial either, with a mechanism to get bigger if ignored.
- onion2k 1y agoMeta appear 4 times in the top 10 with a total of about 2.25bn in fines. That sounds like a lot but it's only 1.6% of their revenue. As a cost of doing business that's probably acceptable to the Meta board. It'd cost them more to do things properly, so there's little incentive to do so.
- layer8 1y agoThe fines will increase if they continue breaking the rules, so there is incentive.
- coldtea 1y agoThe fines are calculated to be enough to pad the coffers of the EU bureucracy and for FB to not really care, to keep this racket going.
- IsTom 1y agoBesides fines being able to grow that's global revenue, probably a bigger part of EU revenue. And their margins aren't 100%.
- closewith 1y agoI've worked with many large enterprises, including US megacorps, who have completely changed how they handle EU data post-GDPR. It's not perfect, but it's certainly not just a toll to be paid to continue old practices.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- immibis 1y agoLike with most laws, smaller companies have smaller chance to get caught and smaller likely penalties. But I've noticed there are two kinds of people when it comes to entrepreneurship and regulations. There are people who go all gung-ho and do what they want and ignore the law as much as they can get away with. And there are people who are so scared of things like laws that they never become entrepreneurs. I don't see much of a middle ground in practice.
- mrbombastic 1y agoYes just make user data hoarding and targeted advertising a nonviable business model, and watch the horrible secondary effects start to dissipate. it requires a lot of political will that currently isn’t there but we have become too resigned in the US that things can’t change. I still hate cookie banners though :).
- tayo42 1y agoIdk if it's the thought that the US can't change things, but these concerns are mostly hypothetical for almost all people. How are real people's lives being effected by these problems?
- anonbuddy 1y agocentralisation of power leads to fascism and historically people didn't really like that ie 2. WW
- afpx 1y agoThat will never happen as long as people are terrified with anxiety from continuous media exaggeration and "Security and Defense" are hidden behind thick veils and dark budgets.
- harrall 1y agoIt doesn’t happen because when a company replaces advertising with a subscription, people balk and then switch to a competitor that doesn’t charge anything by using advertising.
- xp84 1y agoWas this posted from a Brussels IP? This certainly seems to reflect how the EU regulators see themselves, but I haven't met many real Europeans who have themselves realized any actual value coming from their laughable, vague attempts at legislating the problems away. The best they've managed is making some Europeans smug, but their data still exists in all the same places. Worst case a few fines get levied, for megacorps that can easily afford them, while small businesses grapple with confusing and vague language that threaten to punish them even absent any actual harms or even ill intentions.
- watwut 1y agoSo, if Europeans think these rules improved the situation, they are smug and dont count. Frankly, in here EU did a good job, certainly better then USA does. It would be neat if USA made similar laws too. Megacorps do get bigger fines then small companies, actually. Megacorps existence is also literally result of winner takes all and rich are untouchable legal system cranked to 11 Americans are proud of.
- rglullis 1y ago> Frankly, in here EU did a good job People in the EU are still using Instagram/Facebook/WhatsApp. Zuckerberg did a "ok, if you don't want us to track you, you can pay 12€/month" and everyone just smashed the "I consent to get my data mined forever" button. Not to mention that we *still* have lobbying for chat control. Every measure from the EU is, as always, meant to look like our beloved bureaucrats are doing something but absolute ineffective at changing the status quo.
- anonymars 1y agoElsewhere there is no choice. How is that better? What do you suggest instead?
- rglullis 1y ago> How is that better? Things elsewhere are bad, but the EU is worse because it lies to people about the efficacy of its regulations and the whole apparatus only exist to make lawmakers and lobbyists a justification for their existence. Let's stop pretending that the EU has done anything more than political theater. > What do you suggest instead? Break apart any company that has more than 150 employees (by employee, also count individuals working more than 50% of the time to the same company): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31317641 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31317641