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Regardless of whether the law is absurd or not (I honestly have no idea, but we've seen some crazy stuff lately in the EU), its kinda precious that a CEO only c
by aforwardslash 9mo ago
Regardless of whether the law is absurd or not (I honestly have no idea, but we've seen some crazy stuff lately in the EU), its kinda precious that a CEO only complains about it when his company is fined.
I'm certain it is also quite reassuring for any paying Cloudflare customer that the company strategy is driven by the CEO Twitter rants; That if by some reason doesn't want to play ball with local laws (as draconian as they may be) and the company is fined, his public reaction is threatening to leave the country. Its not the first time he does this, and certainly it won't be the last. This communication style gets old fast, and IMO this actually hurts the company - I'm a free tier user and would never subscribe any paid products. I think their tech is amazing, they surely have great engineers, but I don't feel comfortable financing a company that thinks it is above the law.
The icing on the cake is the plea for a free internet; You know what a free internet looks like? A network that doesn't make half its content inaccessible because someone in a major company did a mistake on a SQL query. Or a network that isn't controlled by a company that basically just said "we're tight with the US government, so f** your laws".
- tuwtuwtuwtuw 9mo agoWhat is an example of a crazy law from EU?
- aforwardslash 9mo agohttps://fightchatcontrol.eu https://fightchatcontrol.eu
- tuwtuwtuwtuw 9mo agoAgreed. But to be fair, the proposal was rejected.
- NoahZuniga 9mo agoNot for long, seemingly.
- cls59 9mo agoThe fact that it was even proposed in the first place is still concerning.
- xinayder 9mo agoIt wasn't, it passed on the Council of EU.
- cm2012 9mo agoEffective ban of GMOs across EU, ban on paternity tests in France without a court order are the two that come to mind for me.
- Illniyar 9mo agoHe did mention that they were fighting the law before they were fined and they plan to challenge the fine in court. He has also been vocal about other similar legislation before they were enacted or the company got fined (not sure about this specific one though). So I don't think it's fair to characterize it as he "only complains about it when his company is fined".
- troyvit 9mo agoHe also said this: > In the meantime, we remain happy to discuss this with Italian government officials who, so far, have been unwilling to engage beyond issuing fines. which, although his rant really pisses me off, further proves your point.
- rediguanayum 9mo agoHe's giving Italy and Italians fair warning that he will abandon the Italian market to avoid being subject to their laws, and I think it will go that way. I guess it's up to the Italians to find a replacement.
- h33t-l4x0r 9mo agoFind a replacement global edge network and get the rest of the world to use it?
- cteiosanu 9mo agoAt least 2 major competitors have good enough global edge networks.
- QuantumNoodle 9mo agoCan't have a global edge network without also being a big player - something Cloudflare is disliked for. You're suggesting everyone move to a new provider, so we can dislike the new vendor instead?
- DangitBobby 9mo ago
- csallen 9mo ago> financing a company that thinks it is above the law I've never liked arguments like this, because laws are often complex, unreasonable, and unjust, and all of us (both individuals and companies) routinely use our best judgment to decide which laws to flout and which to follow, and when, where, and why to do so.
- oaiey 9mo agoI share that perspective. Being an international company is a challenging thing regards law. You have to operate in best intent, and judges respect that. And sure, some laws and most likely this one, are stupid. I always take GDPR as an example. Annoying as fuck, but a good regulation. Well written, well executed and hits its goal. However, disrespecting and being tone deaf in communication is wrong, ignoring the intent (Italian based legal control of IP violations) is wrong and treating the Internet as a legal free space (or only accept US perspective) is wrong. Italy is a sovereign state and the Internet is operating there and on its citizens. It has all right and duty to do so. We have to respect that.
- DangitBobby 9mo agoIt feels good to see someone give a giant middle finger to corruption.
- gpm 9mo agoA giant middle finger to corruption by sucking up the most corrupt government the US has ever seen?
- DangitBobby 9mo agoI don't know if you read the tweet? Maybe give it another go.
- cteiosanu 9mo agoI did. It reads exactly the same. Suck up to the current US government.
- TheMagicHorsey 9mo ago[flagged]
- yibg 9mo agoStyle aside, what do you think he should do? Faced with a law that not only imposes disproportionate fines (more than revenue from the country), but on the surface also requires blocking globally, there are really only a few things to do: 1. Challenge the law in court 3. Influence the law via political means 3. Try to sway public opinion so 2. may be easier 4. Give in and play ball 5. Exit the country entirely
- wmf 9mo agoIt looks like he skipped 1 and 2 and went straight for option 3. I wonder why that is.
- Wyverald 9mo agohow ever did you reach that conclusion? For 1, his tweet literally says "That, of course, is DISGUSTING and even before yesterday’s fine we had multiple legal challenges pending against the underlying scheme." 2 is something that happens behind the doors, and it's rather uncharitable to just assume he skipped it.
- wmf 9mo agoThat's fair, but he also didn't give any specifics. If Cloudflare is suing Italy there should be some documents we can read.
- sumedh 9mo ago> Challenge the law in court Do the courts in Italy work or do they do what the govt wants them to do.
- blacklanzer 9mo agoThe government complains everyday about the judges and it's trying to make a referendum to make judges angry, so I wouldn't say courts do what govt says
- kubb 9mo ago
- ryan_n 9mo ago> I don't feel comfortable financing a company that thinks it is above the law Of all the companies to make that claim about in 2026, Cloudflare would not be very high on the list I would think... Also, hopefully you're not paying for any genAI services and making that statement?
- nhinck3 9mo agoCrying free speech and attempting to rile up the tech bros is just what companies do these days. It doesn't matter if, like this issue, it has absolutely nothing to do with free speech; if you position yourself as a defender of the "open internet", "open source", "free thinking" or "innovation" you get every dingleberry that hangs off Musk to come and defend you.
- flumpcakes 9mo agoAmerican free speech as of 2026 includes openly threatening to invade European territory unless it is given away. It's funny how America can force it's own crappy content protection laws to the entire globe, but another country can't have their own. The current administration is burning good will to America with it's allies at an alarming rate. This isn't good for stability or world order. I think this year is could be a contender to be the worst one yet of this millennium as we find other despots empowered by America's actions.
- mlrtime 9mo agoWhen I read this I was thinking that I'd be grateful for the CEO of a company I worked for to write this. As long as they don't go off the rails like Musk and others have, its good to see them pasionate and fight for the company. The reverse is MUCH worse.
- cteiosanu 9mo agoThis 1000x times!