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Meta wants EU users to apply for permission to opt out of data collection

arstechnica.com

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Re: Meta wants EU users to apply for permission to opt out of data collection

#111

Post by jnsaff2 »

petre wrote: post #71
saiya-jin wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FB doesn't comply with what EU wants, then block it on whole continent. 1 or 2 weeks of annoyance and then we can use whatever alternative is out there. FB would be hurt so much more by this than EU users (market bigger than US, and other countries would follow), especially long term that they will quickly reconsider their uber-arrogant behavior. Really, who the f*k do they think they are, just another greedy corp ru…

The EU DPO is going to find that Meta doesn't comply with the regulation and it's going to hit them with huges fines. It's more productive than blocking it. If they don't pay up, the court will most probably order asset freezes and cessation of operations in the EU, including blocking thir services. They are legally required to keep EU users' data in the EU anyway.

Thats what FB would want.

Remember when they got the biggest fine ever, like 5B (EUR or USD can't remember) and the moment this decision was made public the stock went up as traders had thought the fine is even bigger.

Re: Meta wants EU users to apply for permission to opt out of data collection

#113

Post by wkat4242 »

jacquesm wrote: post #102
redeeman wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

> lol you really think so? lol, yes I really think so. > the EU serves at the pleasure of these megacompanies This is the sort of thing that I'd be happy if it wasn't dumped into HN.

> This is the sort of thing that I'd be happy if it wasn't dumped into HN.

I agree with you but the OP has a bit of a point when it comes to the Irish privacy regulator. It's not the EU as a whole but the way they can pick the country that most suits them.

Ireland gets a substantial portion of its GDP from big tech so they are pretty receptive to their point of view and often Ireland has to be persuaded to give higher fines and to perform investigations in a timely manner. Facebook picked Ireland as their base of operations so the Irish regulators are responsible for the entire EU.

It's not just about privacy either. The EU ruled that Apple owed Ireland 1 billion in back taxes they illegally avoided. Ireland fought tooth and nail not to receive this money.

Clearly the EU rule that multinationals can choose the privacy and tech regulator to work with for the whole EU by choosing their main host country is helping them to cherry pick those that are most on their side and this is not helping the effectiveness of these laws.

Re: Meta wants EU users to apply for permission to opt out of data collection

#114

Post by Nextgrid »

petre wrote: post #71
saiya-jin wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FB doesn't comply with what EU wants, then block it on whole continent. 1 or 2 weeks of annoyance and then we can use whatever alternative is out there. FB would be hurt so much more by this than EU users (market bigger than US, and other countries would follow), especially long term that they will quickly reconsider their uber-arrogant behavior. Really, who the f*k do they think they are, just another greedy corp ru…

The EU DPO is going to find that Meta doesn't comply with the regulation and it's going to hit them with huges fines. It's more productive than blocking it. If they don't pay up, the court will most probably order asset freezes and cessation of operations in the EU, including blocking thir services. They are legally required to keep EU users' data in the EU anyway.

It took 4 years for Facebook's data collection and GDPR bypass mechanism to be ruled illegal. Give it another 4 more and maybe we'll actually see a decent fine?

> They are legally required to keep EU users' data in the EU anyway.

It's not about what you are legally required to do, it's about what happens in practice when you don't. In this case, not much happens, so why would they bother complying?

Re: Meta wants EU users to apply for permission to opt out of data collection

#115

Post by retSava »

gattilorenz wrote: post #61
miroljub wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... and be punished with yet another 11.278 € fine, as if that would change anything.

“GDPR sets forth fines of up to 10 million euros, or, in the case of an undertaking, up to 2% of its entire global turnover of the preceding fiscal year, whichever is higher” Generally speaking, GDPR violations won’t be addressed with a slap on the wrist, apparently

I think it's about time they went into action with that then.

Re: Meta wants EU users to apply for permission to opt out of data collection

#116

Post by 411111111111111 »

pessimizer wrote: post #103
closewith wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My honest reply is that you don't know the conversations you were excluded from because of this decision.

This is just rationalizing FOMO. Of course you don't know the things you don't know.

Except you actually are getting excluded in a lot of conversations after uninstalling, thus it's not just a fear...

So it's not FOMO, it's just plain MO.

Re: Meta wants EU users to apply for permission to opt out of data collection

#117

Post by Nextgrid »

favsq wrote: post #59
bilekas wrote: post #12

This is still a bit insane to me. If I understand correct, you have to fill a form with a justification why you object, and then Meta will decide if you can be removed from the detailed data collection ? Privacy is a basic human right, and the strawman argument of "Well don't just use their services then" is ridiculous with their influence. Also them touting to "connected the world" When in reality is "connecting to…

Have you considered not using their services if you don't want to pay with your data in exchange for their computing power, data storage, engineering time, etc?

Counterpoint: I do not use any of their services when browsing non-Facebook websites, yet most sites still attempt to load FB tracking scripts.

Re: Meta wants EU users to apply for permission to opt out of data collection

#118

Post by Nextgrid »

Kbelicius wrote: post #110
miroljub wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... and be punished with yet another 11.278 € fine, as if that would change anything.

Meta was fined more than a billion Euros in the last 2 years.... you are talking nonsense.

It doesn't matter how big the fine is if the profit from the fine-yielding behavior is greater than the fine itself.

Re: Meta wants EU users to apply for permission to opt out of data collection

#119

Post by jacquesm »

wkat4242 wrote: post #113
jacquesm wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> lol you really think so? lol, yes I really think so. > the EU serves at the pleasure of these megacompanies This is the sort of thing that I'd be happy if it wasn't dumped into HN.

> This is the sort of thing that I'd be happy if it wasn't dumped into HN. I agree with you but the OP has a bit of a point when it comes to the Irish privacy regulator. It's not the EU as a whole but the way they can pick the country that most suits them. Ireland gets a substantial portion of its GDP from big tech so they are pretty receptive to their point of view and often Ireland has to be persuaded to give highe…

That's a very far cry from the claim that the EU serves at the pleasure of US megacompanies, in fact it documents the opposite: the US megacompanies try everything they can to game the system but end up being fined by the EU in amounts that definitely move the needle. The GDPR is EU law, not country law.

Whether member states are able to act effectively with companies playing both ends against the middle is another matter entirely and is exactly why the EU is serving its purpose: it forces the whole to act as a bloc rather than as individual states that you can drive wedges between, of course that won't stop parties from trying.

EU anti-trust and EU privacy law has so far served its purpose very well and if they really were in the pocket of big tech I am pretty sure I would have noticed.

Re: Meta wants EU users to apply for permission to opt out of data collection

#120

Post by favsq »

Nextgrid wrote: post #117
favsq wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you considered not using their services if you don't want to pay with your data in exchange for their computing power, data storage, engineering time, etc?

Counterpoint: I do not use any of their services when browsing non-Facebook websites, yet most sites still attempt to load FB tracking scripts.

You should configure your browser properly so it doesn't contact 3rd parties while you are browsing.
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