Live data from Hacker News

Facebook will ignore data collection ban issued in Germany over WhatApp rules

techspot.com

81–90 of 95 posts

Re: Facebook will ignore data collection ban issued in Germany over WhatApp rules

#81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A huge chunk of internet is supported by some form of advertisement, then they will start blocking germany. Good luck finding a search engine working without ads.

If ads were illegal, there would be a search engine without ads. Unless either 1. web search is not worth the money it costs to provide or 2. markets don't work.

A dominant search engine without ads would have even more trouble with adversarial SEO than Google. The ads set an upper bound to the amount of effort people are going to spend to rank higher.

Re: Facebook will ignore data collection ban issued in Germany over WhatApp rules

#82

> "In 2016, the commissioner demanded Facebook stop collecting user data from WhatsApp. In that case, Facebook worked with Germany to iron things out. It does not appear that the social media platform is willing to cooperate this time." This line to me sounds incredibly sinister. For a long time I've been fearmongering about the level of power held by these multinationals approaching those of small states. It sounds…

I agree, though this is an understatement:

> the level of power held by these multinationals approaching those of small states

I'd say Facebook, Google and a few others are far more powerful than MANY small states.

Re: Facebook will ignore data collection ban issued in Germany over WhatApp rules

#83

I am PANICKING this standoff will be abused by the EU to implement union-wide China-style internet filters „for the good of the citizens“. And from then on it will be a slippery slope to add more and more websites to the banlist.

You don't need a filter. The modern way to enforce this is having Apple and Google remove WhatsApp from their respective stores.

Re: Facebook will ignore data collection ban issued in Germany over WhatApp rules

#84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Germany ist’s a small State. It‘s basically the most powerful nation in Europe. I can‘t see any benefit for Facebook from this. There is a line of thought that Germany decides lots of EU decisions, could we see Facebook banned from the EU? Unlikely, Facebook will probably back down like they did with Austraila, but if things keep escalating after a Germany ban I think an EU ban would be talked about.

Perhaps Facebook believes that the regulator has stepped beyond its legal authority and would prefer to have a court decide the matter? It's a pretty normal thing. Bureaucrats may be powerful, but, in countries I'm familiar with, they are limited by the law in terms of what actions they may take, what justifications they must provide, and the reach of their decisions' force. Facebook appears to be wagering that this…

> Bureaucrats may be powerful

Bureaucrats are not as powerful as politicians, and I think that the EU is slowly and belatedly coming to the realisation that it needs to control its computing and communications infrastructure, in order for it to preserve independence from the other big powers -- such as the USA and China.

So I think that it's quite possible in the coming years that the German and EU authorities will come to the conclusion that Facebook are too big for their boots and need to be taken down a peg or two -- for example by requiring them to divest themselves of Instagram and other acquisitions, or maybe banning them from the EU entirely and building their own alternatives.

Re: Facebook will ignore data collection ban issued in Germany over WhatApp rules

#85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you missed the boat - the requirement for filters and any company with user generated content having a censorship office in the EU and 1 hour SLA to delete content on request has recently passed without voting. It will be now implemented within a year. Some light: https://decoded.legal/blog/2021/04/the-eus-terrorist-content...

Yes but that‘s just another regulation in law space. What I‘m worried about is filtering infrastructure in tech space.

It looks like they changed it so that the content filters are optional, but the it's very worrying where this is going indeed.

Re: Facebook will ignore data collection ban issued in Germany over WhatApp rules

#86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Germany would do well to ban all advertising based services. Fuck them all!

A huge chunk of internet is supported by some form of advertisement, then they will start blocking germany. Good luck finding a search engine working without ads.

Ads can work without needing your personalised data ,

What’s wrong with going back to keyword data and affiliate marketing ?

Duckduckgo is pretty profitable just based on that according to them.

Sure not super profitable like google , but do we want this world in hands of a search engine giants ?

Did people not advertise or buy things without the new internet’s atrocious crimes under the name of personalised targeting ?

They did.

Re: Facebook will ignore data collection ban issued in Germany over WhatApp rules

#87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Perhaps Facebook believes that the regulator has stepped beyond its legal authority and would prefer to have a court decide the matter? Then they can contest the injunction and if wasn't justified, it will be revoked. But they can't just ignore it.

Apparently they can just ignore it, though, at the risk of whatever consequences would apply. I confess I do not know the details of the legalities around this particular injunction, whether it behaves like an American injunction, etc. I notice that not a court but a commissioner issued this injunction, and not even a commissioner with authority over all of Germany, but one just within the (state? province? municipal…

Just pointing out that Hamburg is a free city republican state within the federal republic of Germany. So I don't think it carries any water.

Re: Facebook will ignore data collection ban issued in Germany over WhatApp rules

#89
Is it possible to add a sizable fine solely for ignoring the government ban - independent of what a court would say regarding the matter of the ban, just for the violation of a ban itself?

Otherwise there is a plausible strategy to drag things in courts for long time meanwhile continuing the - possible - violations as stated by the government.

Re: Facebook will ignore data collection ban issued in Germany over WhatApp rules

#90

> "In 2016, the commissioner demanded Facebook stop collecting user data from WhatsApp. In that case, Facebook worked with Germany to iron things out. It does not appear that the social media platform is willing to cooperate this time." This line to me sounds incredibly sinister. For a long time I've been fearmongering about the level of power held by these multinationals approaching those of small states. It sounds…

Germany ist’s a small State. It‘s basically the most powerful nation in Europe. I can‘t see any benefit for Facebook from this. There is a line of thought that Germany decides lots of EU decisions, could we see Facebook banned from the EU? Unlikely, Facebook will probably back down like they did with Austraila, but if things keep escalating after a Germany ban I think an EU ban would be talked about.

This order didn't come from the German federal government. It came from the data protection official of one state (Hamburg). It don't think he has too much influence of the German government.
Post reply on HN