Instapaper is temporarily shutting off access for European users due to GDPR
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Re: Instapaper is temporarily shutting off access for European users due to GDPR
#2I'm sad to see that as I am an avid Instapaper user living in EU. The whole GDPR issue caused a lot of changes and friction, but hopefully that's a good thing on the long term
Re: Instapaper is temporarily shutting off access for European users due to GDPR
#3This is a terrible move. They had effectively years to prepare for the GDPR and they already have some sort of rudimentary export and delete options.
This step removes all the trust in Instapaper that I had in the past: They either are mismanaged or are not willing to tell the users what data they are collecting and how they use and monetize this data. And it should worry all users, not only users from the EU.
Re: Instapaper is temporarily shutting off access for European users due to GDPR
#4This is a terrible move. They had effectively years to prepare for the GDPR and they already have some sort of rudimentary export and delete options. This step removes all the trust in Instapaper that I had in the past: They either are mismanaged or are not willing to tell the users what data they are collecting and how they use and monetize this data. And it should worry all users, not only users from the EU.
It could also just be liability concerns -- I know I personally considered turning off a (free & gdpr-compliant) side project I maintain out of concern around what might happen to my bank account were a security incident were to occur affecting EU citizens.
Re: Instapaper is temporarily shutting off access for European users due to GDPR
#5Hey all – Brian from Instapaper here. We worked really hard to try to avoid a service interruption in the EU, but unfortunately we were unable to. We continue to work hard to ensure that the service interruption is as brief as possible.
Let me know if you have any questions...
Re: Instapaper is temporarily shutting off access for European users due to GDPR
#6This is a terrible move. They had effectively years to prepare for the GDPR and they already have some sort of rudimentary export and delete options. This step removes all the trust in Instapaper that I had in the past: They either are mismanaged or are not willing to tell the users what data they are collecting and how they use and monetize this data. And it should worry all users, not only users from the EU.
> They either are mismanaged or are not willing to tell the users what data they are collecting and how they use and monetize this data. And it should worry all users, not only users from the EU.
I don't know a ton about GDPR, but the article makes it look like it has less to do with Instapaper (aside from risk tolerance) and more to do with the ambiguity of the law. Some relevant quotes:
> it’s more than likely to be the GDPR’s data subject access request, which allows any EU resident to request any and all data collected and stored about them. As The Verge reported yesterday, that’s causing companies trouble because it’s not entirely clear right now what information residents will request, what format that information needs to be in, how to locate it and package it, and whether new infrastructure needs to be created to manage this request pipeline. Personal info is a somewhat nebulous concept, and the fact that experts are describing the GDPR as “staggeringly complex” is not making it easy to cover all the bases.
> It’s clear that few companies, if any, will be 100 percent compliant when the law goes into effect. But because the fines are so steep — violating GDPR will cost a company 4 percent of its global turnover or $20 million, whichever is larger — no one really wants to be caught non-compliant. So that’s why companies are rushing and, in the case of Instapaper, literally shutting down.
Re: Instapaper is temporarily shutting off access for European users due to GDPR
#7Hey all – Brian from Instapaper here. We worked really hard to try to avoid a service interruption in the EU, but unfortunately we were unable to. We continue to work hard to ensure that the service interruption is as brief as possible. Let me know if you have any questions...
[deleted]
Re: Instapaper is temporarily shutting off access for European users due to GDPR
#8This is a terrible move. They had effectively years to prepare for the GDPR and they already have some sort of rudimentary export and delete options. This step removes all the trust in Instapaper that I had in the past: They either are mismanaged or are not willing to tell the users what data they are collecting and how they use and monetize this data. And it should worry all users, not only users from the EU.
> They either are mismanaged or are not willing to tell the users what data they are collecting and how they use and monetize this data. And it should worry all users, not only users from the EU. I don't know a ton about GDPR, but the article makes it look like it has less to do with Instapaper (aside from risk tolerance) and more to do with the ambiguity of the law. Some relevant quotes: > it’s more than likely to b…
What...data are they collecting?
It's a site that pins articles people have saved, the only piece of user data they should hold would be email address and maybe IP address? Simple to put in policies to expire the IP address data after a reasonable amount of time.
Re: Instapaper is temporarily shutting off access for European users due to GDPR
#9Obviously, IANAL, but my company talked to a few over the past week.
This move is, in my opinion, a bad read on the odds and European culture.
First, culture. The goal (at least in France, but that's probably the same in other countries) is to get you in compliance, NOT to fine you. What this means is that before you get lawsuit and fines, someone will talk to you and work with you to see how you can get compliant.
Second, the odds. Unless you are a big company that thrives on GDPR violations (doesn't seem to me Instapaper is one, but I could be mistaken as I never used the service), you aren't likely to be targeted before a while, at least until a big case is done and over (let's take the odds Facebook is first).
Third, the delay. While the GDPR takes effect tomorrow, you have a grace period of a year for part of it (for example, getting consent for newsletter). I would really be surprised if enforcement start tomorrow.
Well, at least that's my read on the situation. And that's how I intend to do it: pro-actively work into getting in compliance without rushing it too much, and handle things properly as they come.
Re: Instapaper is temporarily shutting off access for European users due to GDPR
#10Hey all – Brian from Instapaper here. We worked really hard to try to avoid a service interruption in the EU, but unfortunately we were unable to. We continue to work hard to ensure that the service interruption is as brief as possible. Let me know if you have any questions...
> Let me know if you have any questions...
It sounds as if you're unwilling to talk about the issues that you're facing. So what can you say? The only reason I can think of that you can't say is that are trying to get some infrastructure suppliers to be compliant and those talks are confidential. Correct?