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How the GDPR Will Disrupt Google and Facebook

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Re: How the GDPR Will Disrupt Google and Facebook

#81
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course this affects american companies, as the whole thing is primarily designed as a weapon for the EU against US dominance in the consumer space. The big problem for the EU is that consumers actually choose the best product in a free market (the internet of free services), and they overwhelmingly decided to use the US-based options. All the framing as "nefarious" is propaganda, consumers choose freely the option…

I suppose we fundamentally disagree on a few things here so I won't go into a discussion about the motivation of this law (which I as a EU citizen support). I do however want to leave a note on this quote here: > All the framing as "nefarious" is propaganda, consumers choose freely the option they value the most. Customers cannot choose freely. I'm a customer and I cannot chose certain products because they do not ex…

> Companies I never engage with are tracking my activities through tracking pixels and other things and because I never establish a business relationship with them, I cannot avoid that.

You can easily avoid being tracked by using an adblocker. Other websites only track you because they are business partners of the tracking companies, which provide a lot of value in terms of analytics for the business - free of charge.

> I think this a good development because it finally makes certain backroom deals visible.

As a German, I'd like to have more transparency into the backroom deals that are done in Berlin and Brussels.

But this won't happen unfortunately, and they'll try to regulate IT to death to the benefit of local corporations who failed again and again providing the consumer with as valuable producs as their US counterparts.

Re: How the GDPR Will Disrupt Google and Facebook

#82
post #18
post #14

Sweet. How to I inform google that I moved to europe (even though I didn't)? VPN tunnel?

If you want to opt out of data collection, it's not that hard, just go to google.com/privacy

Google stores many of those settings as cookies, which means your opt-out only applies to one browser on one device for a limited time.

Re: How the GDPR Will Disrupt Google and Facebook

#83
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess that sentence is referencing article 43. IANAL. See http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-5419-2016-IN...

The legislation itself refers to this in article 7.4: "When assessing whether consent is freely given, utmost account shall be taken of whether, inter alia, the performance of a contract, including the provision of a service, is conditional on consent to the processing of personal data that is not necessary for the performance of that contract. " I don't think it is forbidden, but you'd have a hard time explaining wh…

A couple of specific scenarios:

Visit turbotax.com to file a tax return, it asks for your bank account before you fill out the tax information. But it's not required, unless you're reporting interest earnings on that account.

On turbotax.com, after you fill out the tax form you have a refund of overpaid taxes. The site asks for your bank account in order to arrange for the refund to be deposited, or instead they can arrange for you to receive a paper check and you don't have to give your bank account.

Re: How the GDPR Will Disrupt Google and Facebook

#84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But GDPR is more than that right? I can tell Google to delete everything it knows about me, not just start opting out.

you can already do that at https://myaccount.google.com/

Do you actually believe it will delete anything? You're wrong. NSA would still get the data, and so would Google for marketing purposes. It's just to calm privacy-aware, but not techsavvy users.

Re: How the GDPR Will Disrupt Google and Facebook

#85
post #18
post #14

Sweet. How to I inform google that I moved to europe (even though I didn't)? VPN tunnel?

If you want to opt out of data collection, it's not that hard, just go to google.com/privacy

I wouldn't trust Google in anything, especially opt-outs.

Re: How the GDPR Will Disrupt Google and Facebook

#86
post #31

The author believes that users have little incentive to allow Google to provide personalized Google Search results. I don't think any technical-oriented people in this thread would agree that they have "little incentive" to allow Google Search personalization. When I turn off Google Search personalization, I get inferior search results that are less likely to be what I was searching for. If you don't want your result…

I don't even use Google, I use my own searx instance instead. Completely unpersonalized, and completely private. And I feel that it's better this way, cause privacy does matter.

Re: How the GDPR Will Disrupt Google and Facebook

#87
post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't have any operations in the EU. I don't collect revenue directly from EU residents using my services. I have no presence in Europe, but some Europeans do use my website (it's a free Internet). What's the EU going to do? They have no jurisdiction over me.

If Europeans use your website and don't pay for it that's fair game largely. The details are a bit more complicated.

So.. Facebook is okay then if they move their data centers? For average users, I mean. They don't pay a cent to access facebook.com. I'm pretty sure that's not the intent of this legislation.

Re: How the GDPR Will Disrupt Google and Facebook

#88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've never understood what would happen if Google or Facebook just ignored EU regulations, claimed that they were not under the EU's jurisdiction, and ignored any judgement. Would the EU erect a great firewall at that point?

Google has assets within the EU which means ignoring EU laws is not an option, unless Google are prepared to forfeit those assets. It's not really a decision they have the authority to make anyhow. Imagine the shareholder lawsuits!

And, it would be very difficult to accept payments from EU citizens for their sold products and services.

Re: How the GDPR Will Disrupt Google and Facebook

#89
post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Europeans use your website and don't pay for it that's fair game largely. The details are a bit more complicated.

So.. Facebook is okay then if they move their data centers? For average users, I mean. They don't pay a cent to access facebook.com. I'm pretty sure that's not the intent of this legislation.

Facebook is doing a ton of business in Europe and has for many reasons established local entities. They are absolutely bound by this law.

A lot of facebook's money comes from selling ads to European companies.

Re: How the GDPR Will Disrupt Google and Facebook

#90
post #46
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is about ethics primarily. If you don't care about ethics then expect an unethical economy.

I don't think it is about ethics, it is about control. We as European businessmen were and still are unable to generate the same kind of innovation as the US, and now they try to solve the problem by pulling down the US on our level (at least the parts concerning the EU market). I think this is the wrong approach, EU should try to make it easier for European businesses to compete with US-based ones. But in the end we…

>We as European businessmen were and still are unable to generate the same kind of innovation as the US

I don't want US innovation. Thanks for the offer.

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