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GDPR: US news sites unavailable to EU users over data protection rules

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Re: GDPR: US news sites unavailable to EU users over data protection rules

#511

Post by smoe »

throwaway974 wrote: post #456
bo1024 wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the 1-3 person startup's application is geared around personal information and it needs a complex privacy policy to describe what it does with data, then yes, it will have to work very hard to comply with GDPR, but that will also result in meaningful improvements in privacy and data control for its customers. Do you have examples of startups where data is not a core business concern, who still find it very onerous…

Here's an example: I have a profitable, bootstrapped SaaS business based in US . It's not based on ads or selling data. I don't even have a freemium plan. Only a limited free trial after which you have to start paying. It's a trivial application that stores mostly already public data. Only email is required to login so that I can send password reset and other such communication. I've been talking to a very well known…

I think once the dust settles and it becomes clearer how the law is being handled, it is going to get easier.

My first job twelve years ago was at a company similar to yours in Switzerland. A small bootstrapped SaaS targeted at enterprise and government. Switzerland is quite serious about privacy with strict laws regarding them, but since they have been around for a long time, nobody freaked out about it. It is just part of the daily business for everyone.

I can't remember compliance with such constraints being a serious competitive disadvantage for the company. In fact after Snowden the label "Made in Switzerland" and images of datacenters in mountain bunkers became an advantage internationally.

Re: GDPR: US news sites unavailable to EU users over data protection rules

#512

Post by [deleted] »

dexterdog wrote: post #271
rayvd wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A sometimes unintentional and often intentional side-effect of regulation is helping the big guys fend off competition from the scrappy upstarts. What seems like something aimed to protect the consumer may have unintended consequences further consolidating information into the hands of a few large behemoths.

The side-effect is almost always completely intentional.

[deleted]

Re: GDPR: US news sites unavailable to EU users over data protection rules

#513

Post by newman8r »

kazz wrote: post #168
flohofwoe wrote: post #48

Alternatively there's this: https://eu.usatoday.com/ No ads, no tracking, no cookies, not even Javascript. Just plain HTML+CSS and JPEG images. The whole front page is around 650 KByte, and by far most of this is in the image files. As a result the page looks very clean and loads very fast. This is what all news web sites should look like, not just for EU readers (although I fear that this is just a temporary solutio…

I just get redirected back to https://usatoday.com :( Perks of living in the US, I guess.

you can still use their rss feeds for maximum information density - http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/usatoday-NewsTopStories

Re: GDPR: US news sites unavailable to EU users over data protection rules

#514

Post by craigsmansion »

stale2002 wrote: post #464
craigsmansion wrote: post #423

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, Facebook, Google, Instagram, and Whatsapp have a choice, on whether they want to continue operating in the European market. > why do you think you have a right to use it without consenting to the ads? Consenting to targetted ads. That's a big difference. All operators can show ads like they always have, but they can't specifically tailor them to the individual, using accumulated data, without their consent.

Yes, and this is the decision that Facebook and Google have made. They will only operate for users that have given their consent, and have chosen not to do business with those who do not. Isn't this what you want? They are fully complying with the law and only doing business with people who have consented.

What decision have they made? I'm fairly sure they both will be compliant.

> They will only operate for users that have given their consent

Well, they can't. It's not their choice to make anymore: users in the EU can no longer sign their online privacy away. If that is not something a company can live with, they should be looking for darker pastures elsewhere.

Re: GDPR: US news sites unavailable to EU users over data protection rules

#515

Post by taysic »

gutnor wrote: post #161
firic wrote: post #10

Things like this will test how much EU citizens value their privacy. Of course there will be some sites they will not be able to visit but time will show if they are okay with that. These rules are very similar to rules limiting loans. No matter how desperate a person is and how low credit they have, in the US you can't give them a loan for above a certain amount of interest. That could be terrible for a poor person…

> then the result will probably be that a lot of free websites ban EU users and smaller companies take their place with products that either cost money or will be a bit worse. Availability of quality free content is not a problem, the content will just be available from other source. The big problem on the ads-monetized web today is ranking high enough, and the site that don't want to apply GDPR will just have to com…

The question is - the sites that serve massive amount of content (images, videos, etc) - will they be able to cover their costs in the EU without making their apps paid? What about currently free games which rely on personalized ads?

Re: GDPR: US news sites unavailable to EU users over data protection rules

#516

Post by taysic »

kinsomo wrote: post #127
ghaff wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>closing yourself for an market that size will hurt more than changing a few thing to be compliant Only if I make significant money from that market. If most of my revenue/profit comes from the US and it's problematic to "do business" in the EU or China, why wouldn't I want to just cut access off rather than dealing with potential hassles? The fact that it's potentially a large market is irrelevant to me. In this cas…

> Only if I make significant money from that market. If most of my revenue/profit comes from the US and it's problematic to "do business" in the EU or China, why wouldn't I want to just cut access off rather than dealing with potential hassles? Because you would rather grow your market?

If you run a free website that depends on targeted ads to make money, you might want to expand to the EU but now you'd need to totally change your business model to do so. For some that would basically mean inventing a new company because their service is not the type people would pay for. So in this case, it may not be worth it.

Re: GDPR: US news sites unavailable to EU users over data protection rules

#517

Post by anamoulous »

downandout wrote: post #495
flohofwoe wrote: post #48

Alternatively there's this: https://eu.usatoday.com/ No ads, no tracking, no cookies, not even Javascript. Just plain HTML+CSS and JPEG images. The whole front page is around 650 KByte, and by far most of this is in the image files. As a result the page looks very clean and loads very fast. This is what all news web sites should look like, not just for EU readers (although I fear that this is just a temporary solutio…

Glad you like the ad-free, high quality content. How would you like to pay for that?

Nah, this works the same way pharmaceutical drug development works: US citizens pay and everyone else gets the benefit.

Re: GDPR: US news sites unavailable to EU users over data protection rules

#518

Post by Sargos »

openIce wrote: post #487
jimmaswell wrote: post #473

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. The most basic/outrageous example: anyone in the EU who installs Apache and leaves it in its default configuration which logs all page visits indefinitely is now a criminal. Spin up a DO/Linode/etc. instance and apt-get install apache2? You're now theoretically liable for a 20 million Euro fine.

This is the most retarded comment I have read today. Literally everything you say is false

You might want to actually read the GDPR. IP addresses are PII.

Re: GDPR: US news sites unavailable to EU users over data protection rules

#519

Post by Barrin92 »

downandout wrote: post #495
flohofwoe wrote: post #48

Alternatively there's this: https://eu.usatoday.com/ No ads, no tracking, no cookies, not even Javascript. Just plain HTML+CSS and JPEG images. The whole front page is around 650 KByte, and by far most of this is in the image files. As a result the page looks very clean and loads very fast. This is what all news web sites should look like, not just for EU readers (although I fear that this is just a temporary solutio…

Glad you like the ad-free, high quality content. How would you like to pay for that?

In the mid-term I'm glad to be subsidised by American users who forego their privacy and are willing to get served a lot of ads.

In the long term I would be happier if we'd all be treated with equally high privacy standards and pay for the content we consume. For that to happen we only need one thing, Americans and their legislators need to start valuing their privacy too.

Re: GDPR: US news sites unavailable to EU users over data protection rules

#520

Post by taysic »

roel_v wrote: post #510
stale2002 wrote: post #451

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you use a VPN to access a server that does it want you to access it, then you are breaking the computer fraud and abuse act in the United States. Shouldnt you be the one sent to jail, as you are illegally accessing a computer that you were sepecially told not to access?

Maybe. That's entirely orthogonal to the question whether or not the person who's server it is, is affected by the GDPR though.

But if that person could get sent to jail for that, then I don't see why they would file a complaint.
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