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Google hit with €1.5B fine from EU over advertising

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Re: Google hit with €1.5B fine from EU over advertising

#61

Post by jfk13 »

askmike wrote: post #51
kypro wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's good for US tech because it is yet another cost and restriction EU startups have to face before they can grow to scale and profitability.

It applies to everyone who wants to serve EU customers. As for startups: depending on what kind of personal data you are collecting, being GDPR complicit shouldn't take more than a day. If it takes longer you are building a business around personal data, and I think you should know your stuff (not just GDPR, but also what kind of data you are collecting and why).

> If it takes longer you are building a business around personal data, and I think you should know your stuff (not just GDPR, but also what kind of data you are collecting and why).

And you should probably pause and ask whether your proposed business will provide a net benefit to the world, or if it's just an attempt to make money regardless of the consequences to society.

Not to say there aren't any worthwhile businesses to be created around personal data, but experience suggests that some skepticism is in order.

Re: Google hit with €1.5B fine from EU over advertising

#62

Post by yulaow »

dagw wrote: post #29
perttir wrote: post #23

That's small money for the Google. Last year they gave Google €4.34bn fine and in year 2017 they gave Google €2.42bn fine.

Basically, at this point I'm sure there is a standing ~€2.5 bn section in Google's annual budget simply labeled "misc. EU fines". If they manage to keep it under €2bn in any given year they probably consider that a win and pay out bonuses to their legal team.

The fine is only part of the EUC action, the fined entity has also the obligation to change their behavior as suggested by EUC to stop asap their abusive actions.

Re: Google hit with €1.5B fine from EU over advertising

#63

Post by pushpop »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #47
kypro wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's good for US tech because it is yet another cost and restriction EU startups have to face before they can grow to scale and profitability.

It's a very small cost that all companies should already be able to handle if they're to be trusted with personal data.

That's the crux of it. It's not asking companies to do anything they shouldn't have already been doing if they were conscious about security.

The problem is it's been blown completely out of proportion to a point where by son's child minder sent out letters asking for our permission to contact us if our child is unwell (Of course she should - that isn't unsolicited contact. She was already covered!).

Re: Google hit with €1.5B fine from EU over advertising

#64

Post by _Codemonkeyism »

wlll wrote: post #46
feketegy wrote: post #10

Then look at GDPR, which is a mess imho, and article 13 too

Why is GDPR a mess? As an EU citizen (for the time being at least) with personal data I want to protect I'm quite happy with it. As someone starting a startup there's compliance I need to do, and it's work for sure, but I still (again, for now) live in the EU as a citizen, and I still have personal data that I don't want to lose control of so on balance I'll take it. article 13 is bad for sure. They don't get everyth…

As a EU citizen I like my personal data protected. I left facebook and all other networks except Twitter and usually do not give data for any coupons in shops.

GDPR is a mess not from the goal but the implementation.

Currently no one knows how to implement GDPR correctly - e.g. how to exchange business cards, how to store information from sales leads etc.

Compare this with PCI compliance (which is about CC data protection) and it's very clear if you're compliant and if you are not and what to do.

For now this has no effect because data protection agencies - at least in Germany - are overloaded, but will lead to a lot of fines for companies that want to do everything the right way.

Article 13 is the same mess. Good in intention of making YT pay for the content they use and which is copyright protected, but _impossible_ to implement in it's current form.

Re: Google hit with €1.5B fine from EU over advertising

#65

Post by curt15 »

robin_reala wrote: post #42
askvictor wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When did Microsoft get broken up?

It was the result of a (later overturned) ruling in 2000: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Microsoft_Cor...

So basically nothing happened in the end?

Re: Google hit with €1.5B fine from EU over advertising

#67

Post by klmr »

eggy wrote: post #45

I don't know, I see the super state that the EU wants to become as scary as the super tech company people fear in Google. Also, making it hard to change browsers is not the same as prohibiting changing browsers. Some things are hard to change in Linux too, but I am sure for different reasons that are the result of how they pile on top of each other. The EU could use a cash infusion though given its current economic s…

For starters, this fine isn’t about browsers, it’s about AdSense. Apart from that, we can discuss the pros and cons of multinational treaty cooperations until we’re blue in the face but at the very least the EU in principle follows a democratic postulate, meaning that its citizens have decision power. Google is fundamentally unaccountable to anybody but its largest shareholders. If you fear democratically steered treaty unions more than unaccountable multinational mega-corporations, you’re not paying attention.

Re: Google hit with €1.5B fine from EU over advertising

#68

Post by thefreeman »

jamisteven wrote: post #33
AnaniasAnanas wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google does indeed need to be broken up, but much less than Microsoft. Google has actually done good for the whole world with their open source initiatives, opening of webm, etc - plus all(?) of their products are easily replaceable, unlike say windows which has exclusive programs written for it.

If by open source you mean free if they can keep your data and then some, then sure.

I'm sorry what? Have a look at https://opensource.google.com/projects/explore/featured

You don't need to forfeit any of your data to utilize those projects. Do you even know what open source means?

Re: Google hit with €1.5B fine from EU over advertising

#69

Post by kypro »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #47
kypro wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's good for US tech because it is yet another cost and restriction EU startups have to face before they can grow to scale and profitability.

It's a very small cost that all companies should already be able to handle if they're to be trusted with personal data.

It's absolutely not a small cost. It cost the last startup I worked for around two weeks of development time, plus in many cases it prevents us (or adds massive restrictions) on collecting contact information from leads.

It has certainly affected the bottom line of companies like Facebook and Google, but they can afford to take the hit, not all startups can.

I'm not really disagree that companies "should" do it. But I'd argue one of the many reasons we have a shortage of big tech in the EU is excessive regulation restricting our ability to scale.

Re: Google hit with €1.5B fine from EU over advertising

#70

Post by TheSpiceIsLife »

yulaow wrote: post #62
dagw wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Basically, at this point I'm sure there is a standing ~€2.5 bn section in Google's annual budget simply labeled "misc. EU fines". If they manage to keep it under €2bn in any given year they probably consider that a win and pay out bonuses to their legal team.

The fine is only part of the EUC action, the fined entity has also the obligation to change their behavior as suggested by EUC to stop asap their abusive actions.

How do you reconcile this with the knowledge they’ve been fine $x billion every year for the past 3 years (at least?)?

At what point does Big Corp run out of things to abuse?

If the fines just become a cost of doing business the finance and legal teams can probably get creative and invent new ways of mashing up old abuses over time.

I think the underlying theme here, then, is that the fines are necessary but not sufficient.

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