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Flattr now deletes your web browsing history within 3 months

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Re: Flattr now deletes your web browsing history within 3 months

#61
post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"cost of producing the data" seems really hard to strictly define. What's stopping a company from implementing extremely tedious procedures and billing $100 an hour to discourage people from requesting it? In addition, GPDR says that getting access to data on you is a right and it seems contradictory to have to pay for something that is your right to have.

> "cost of producing the data" seems really hard to strictly define. What's stopping a company from implementing extremely tedious procedures and billing $100 an hour to discourage people from requesting it? Government agencies have been known to do this when they don't want to release FIOA information. Then they get sued over it by the ACLU or similar. > In addition, GPDR says that getting access to data on you is a…

   access to data on you is a right 
   Freedom of the press isn't a right 
Hence the classic liberal difference between rights to something and freedom to do something

Re: Flattr now deletes your web browsing history within 3 months

#62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

GDPR requires you to make that kind of information available.

Do we really believe large Chinese tech companies will be complying with GDPR?

The thought anyone believes that makes me chuckle, thanks.

Re: Flattr now deletes your web browsing history within 3 months

#63

I feel like this whole thing with the GDPR is people fighting each other for the wrong reasons. The people for it argue that gets large companies to behave better. The people against it argue that it's unnecessarily complicated, poorly drafted and burdensome to small businesses. But it's both at the same time . The issue is that it doesn't have to be. It's possible to get the desired effect without using such a compl…

No, the point is that the cost of automating this should be part of the cost of doing the collection, not a separate item.

If you can't afford to deal with the so-called "nightmare letter", then you can't afford to snoop.

Re: Flattr now deletes your web browsing history within 3 months

#64
post #13

I love how some of the tech industry is beginning to see data as a liability rather than an asset. It dramatically reduces the ability for government mass surveillance for two reasons: 1. If companies only collect what they need (to reduce their liability), governments can't demand more than that (or even hack in to get the data illegally). 2. If the industry culture is to limit data collection, governments can't jus…

I concur and would like to add that this view of data collection has become common only because of the slew of breaches. Hackers leaking massive customer databases has forced companies to review their collection policies because they don't want to deal with the fallout, technically, politically and otherwise. This is true of the hacker ethos, using radical, often criminal behavior to point out glaring flaws that others become complacent with. Of course, these days that goal is secondary if it is considered at all, to the goal of financial gain and that's a damn shame.

Re: Flattr now deletes your web browsing history within 3 months

#65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

GDPR requires you to make that kind of information available.

Do we really believe large Chinese tech companies will be complying with GDPR?

Are there any that do a lot of business in the EU that you’re thinking of? I can think of lots of hardware, but not many traditional consumer Internet companies. Maybe Ali Baba for SMEs?

Re: Flattr now deletes your web browsing history within 3 months

#66
post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your proposed solution gives companies zero incentive to minimize data collected, and even incentivizes them to make fulfilling such a request as convoluted and expensive as possible. What people online love to call "common sense solutions" are usually not solutions a all.

> Your proposed solution gives companies zero incentive to minimize data collected The expense of producing the data isn't supposed to be an incentive to minimize data collected, that is what the other sections are for. For large companies it wouldn't be regardless because they could automate the process. > and even incentivizes them to make fulfilling such a request as convoluted and expensive as possible. A company…

45 C.F.R. § 164.524 (c)(4) requires medical providers to make our records available to you upon request, for a reasonable fee to reflect their cost of preparing it.

“Fees. If the individual requests a copy of the protected health information or agrees to a summary or explanation of such information, the covered entity may impose a reasonable, cost-based fee, provided that the fee includes only the cost of:

(i) Labor for copying the protected health information requested by the individual, whether in paper or electronic form;

(ii) Supplies for creating the paper copy or electronic media if the individual requests that the electronic copy be provided on portable media;

(iii) Postage, when the individual has requested the copy, or the summary or explanation, be mailed; and

(iv) Preparing an explanation or summary of the protected health information, if agreed to by the individual as required by paragraph (c)(2)(iii) of this section.”

Despite this language, actual costs for getting medical records varies widely. “Fees range very widely, from $2-55 for short records of 15 pages to $15-585 for long ones of 500 pages. Times also range widely, from 1–30 days (or longer for off-site records)” from a survey study on the topic.

No one has been investigated on this that I have ever heard of.

Re: Flattr now deletes your web browsing history within 3 months

#67
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my case, I don't use an ad blocker, but I do use Privacy Badger, which is only supposed to block tracking, and should only block ads if they can't have their tracking disabled. It looks like Privacy Badger decided "pagead2.googlesyndication.com" should now be blocked as a tracking domain. Perhaps Google should split off their nonpersonalized ads service into a different domain so such services can easily distingui…

Actually, this is something that should be fixed in Privacy Badger. They can detect the URL parameter that flips ads from personalized to non-personalized (npa=1) and block accordingly. https://github.com/EFForg/privacybadger/issues/2046

Privacy badger doesn't have filters like this. That's the whole point. It sees Google doesn't respect the DNT header (it sets tracking cookies) and shuts it down. This is privacy badger working as intended.

Re: Flattr now deletes your web browsing history within 3 months

#69
post #13

I love how some of the tech industry is beginning to see data as a liability rather than an asset. It dramatically reduces the ability for government mass surveillance for two reasons: 1. If companies only collect what they need (to reduce their liability), governments can't demand more than that (or even hack in to get the data illegally). 2. If the industry culture is to limit data collection, governments can't jus…

Just to be contrarian: I’m not so sure if that’s a good thing... Data can be used for great things, e.g. longitudinal data in healthcare. I think seeing data as a liability might reduce the speed of progress

Re: Flattr now deletes your web browsing history within 3 months

#70
post #38

I feel like this whole thing with the GDPR is people fighting each other for the wrong reasons. The people for it argue that gets large companies to behave better. The people against it argue that it's unnecessarily complicated, poorly drafted and burdensome to small businesses. But it's both at the same time . The issue is that it doesn't have to be. It's possible to get the desired effect without using such a compl…

"cost of producing the data" seems really hard to strictly define. What's stopping a company from implementing extremely tedious procedures and billing $100 an hour to discourage people from requesting it? In addition, GPDR says that getting access to data on you is a right and it seems contradictory to have to pay for something that is your right to have.

One (admittedly theoretical) way to get companies to reveal the cost is to tax them based on the self-declared value of the data. The lower value they declare, the less taxes they pay, but the cheaper they have to give it away. One could do this for either personal requests, or even more radical, force the companies to sell the data, at the delcared price, to competitors.

I think this is pretty much suggested by Eric Posner in his book Radical Markets.

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