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Italy's privacy watchdog, scourge of US big tech, hit by corruption probe

ChrisArchitect 10mo ago
this is the same thing as "AGCOM" right? hmm Related: Cloudflare CEO on the Italy fines https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46555760 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46555760
- gpderetta 10mo ago
  Don't think so, this the "Garante della Privacy", two different institutions.
  - UomoNeroNero 10mo ago
    Different — but driven by the same mindset, the same nonsense, and a system run by recycled old-guard politicians.
    - joat_moan 10mo ago
      [dead]
- toyg 10mo ago
  Different things. AGCOM (Autorità per le Garanzie nelle COMunicazioni - authority for integrity in communications) is what supports the anti-piracy efforts that are fighting Cloudflare (as well as ensuring competition in telecom markets etc etc). GPDP (Garante per la Protezione dei Dati Personali - guarantor for the protection of personal data) is the data privacy regulator, tasked with ensuring that people's right to privacy is respected in a world of databases.
- giuliomagnifico 10mo ago
  No these are two different Italian agencies.
eur0pa 10mo ago
The privacy watchdog is not AGCOM
tyre 10mo ago
This feels like a false flag being pressured by corporate interests. Government agency focused on citizen privacy suddenly hit by a corruption probe with no accusations or specifics. What would corruption even mean in this case? They're being bribed to…point out Grok's deepfake porn? Warning about the dangers of AI? Fine companies for harming or misleading users? If so, let's get some more of that corruption!
- Telemakhos 10mo ago
  From what I gather, corruption in this case means that civil servants of the Garante per la Protezione dei Dati Personali got business class travel when they should have flown economy class because the trip was under five hours (the established cut-off for upgrading to business class), and that they stayed in hotels that were better than the ones authorized for civil servants. There's also something about the head of the Garante changing the terms of his lease in Rome on an apartment that is directly adjacent to an AirB&B owned by his daughter, but my financial Italian's not up to understanding the full details. I think this is less the "point out Grok's deepfake" kind of corruption and more the "some civil servants think they're entitled to live better on the taxpayer's dime than other civil servants do."
  - irishcoffee 10mo ago
    Sounds like Baltimore
- naasking 10mo ago
  > Government agency focused on citizen privacy suddenly hit by a corruption probe with no accusations or specifics. I think you underestimate the amount of bureaucracy and corruption in Italian institutions.
- epolanski 10mo ago
  The article is quite misleading. Agcom isn't the privacy watchdog, albeit their responsibilities overlap in some areas. Also, our actual privacy watchdog (garante per la privacy) has been under the lenses for corruption for quite some time. One of it's most important managers was on one side expected to fight for Italians privacy, on the other hand his own law consulting firm was defending US big tech interests. He was caught bragging for being one of the first people in the world to receive the latest meta ray bans before they even got released, a very controversial device for privacy (and yes, he also defends Meta).
altairprime 10mo ago
This is hard paywalled for me. Is a bypass link available?
Privavault 10mo ago
This is a depressing reminder that institutional trust is fragile, even in privacy-forward institutions. The irony of a privacy watchdog potentially being compromised speaks to a more profound problem: we're placing too much trust in centralized authorities to protect our data. This is partly why I am developing end-to-end encrypted solutions that are designed so that even we, as operators, cannot access the data. When mathematical principles replace institutional trust, individuals become less vulnerable to human corruption. Zero-knowledge systems aren't just theoretical elegance; they're practical insurance against exactly this scenario.
hulitu 10mo ago
> Italy's privacy watchdog, scourge of US big tech, hit by corruption probe Cloudfare, insured by Mafia: you hit us, we hit you.

this is the same thing as "AGCOM" right? hmm Related: Cloudflare CEO on the Italy fines https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46555760 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46555760

gpderetta 10mo ago
Don't think so, this the "Garante della Privacy", two different institutions.
- UomoNeroNero 10mo ago
  Different — but driven by the same mindset, the same nonsense, and a system run by recycled old-guard politicians.
  - joat_moan 10mo ago
    [dead]
toyg 10mo ago
Different things. AGCOM (Autorità per le Garanzie nelle COMunicazioni - authority for integrity in communications) is what supports the anti-piracy efforts that are fighting Cloudflare (as well as ensuring competition in telecom markets etc etc). GPDP (Garante per la Protezione dei Dati Personali - guarantor for the protection of personal data) is the data privacy regulator, tasked with ensuring that people's right to privacy is respected in a world of databases.
giuliomagnifico 10mo ago
No these are two different Italian agencies.

eur0pa 10mo ago

The privacy watchdog is not AGCOM

tyre 10mo ago

This feels like a false flag being pressured by corporate interests. Government agency focused on citizen privacy suddenly hit by a corruption probe with no accusations or specifics. What would corruption even mean in this case? They're being bribed to…point out Grok's deepfake porn? Warning about the dangers of AI? Fine companies for harming or misleading users? If so, let's get some more of that corruption!

Telemakhos 10mo ago
From what I gather, corruption in this case means that civil servants of the Garante per la Protezione dei Dati Personali got business class travel when they should have flown economy class because the trip was under five hours (the established cut-off for upgrading to business class), and that they stayed in hotels that were better than the ones authorized for civil servants. There's also something about the head of the Garante changing the terms of his lease in Rome on an apartment that is directly adjacent to an AirB&B owned by his daughter, but my financial Italian's not up to understanding the full details. I think this is less the "point out Grok's deepfake" kind of corruption and more the "some civil servants think they're entitled to live better on the taxpayer's dime than other civil servants do."
- irishcoffee 10mo ago
  Sounds like Baltimore
naasking 10mo ago
> Government agency focused on citizen privacy suddenly hit by a corruption probe with no accusations or specifics. I think you underestimate the amount of bureaucracy and corruption in Italian institutions.
epolanski 10mo ago
The article is quite misleading. Agcom isn't the privacy watchdog, albeit their responsibilities overlap in some areas. Also, our actual privacy watchdog (garante per la privacy) has been under the lenses for corruption for quite some time. One of it's most important managers was on one side expected to fight for Italians privacy, on the other hand his own law consulting firm was defending US big tech interests. He was caught bragging for being one of the first people in the world to receive the latest meta ray bans before they even got released, a very controversial device for privacy (and yes, he also defends Meta).

altairprime 10mo ago

This is hard paywalled for me. Is a bypass link available?

Privavault 10mo ago

This is a depressing reminder that institutional trust is fragile, even in privacy-forward institutions. The irony of a privacy watchdog potentially being compromised speaks to a more profound problem: we're placing too much trust in centralized authorities to protect our data. This is partly why I am developing end-to-end encrypted solutions that are designed so that even we, as operators, cannot access the data. When mathematical principles replace institutional trust, individuals become less vulnerable to human corruption. Zero-knowledge systems aren't just theoretical elegance; they're practical insurance against exactly this scenario.

hulitu 10mo ago

> Italy's privacy watchdog, scourge of US big tech, hit by corruption probe Cloudfare, insured by Mafia: you hit us, we hit you.