Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Big Tech to EU: "Drop Dead"

eff.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

321–330 of 348 posts

Re: Big Tech to EU: "Drop Dead"

#321

Post by seec »

ben_w wrote: post #293
ryandrake wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Facebook Messenger is my only way to remain in contact with some people. This is always an exaggeration. You mean to tell me there are people out there for whom the only way to get in touch with them is through Facebook? They don't have a phone number, SMS, an E-mail address (note you need an E-mail address to sign up for Facebook in the first place), a postal address, and ears for word of mouth conversation? I fou…

> This is always an exaggeration. You mean to tell me there are people out there for whom the only way to get in touch with them is through Facebook? They don't have a phone number, SMS, an E-mail address (note you need an E-mail address to sign up for Facebook in the first place), a postal address, and ears for word of mouth conversation? Yup. Three people in particular come to mind. For them, with regard to phone/S…

If all of that is true, I don't see why you would bother keeping in contact with them. At some point if someone makes it so hard to be contacted it sends a message that he doesn't want to be contacted.

On top of that, I know some people like that and I think there is an ambivalence about them, a form of intellectual dishonesty that makes it not very worthwhile to frequent them. You can have fun at parties with them but that's pretty much the extent of the relationship a self-respecting person should allow.

But we all know that's not the actual reason you keep a Facebook account, because that's technically bullshit in the first place. If you don't change your stuff, they have a way to contact you and that's all that's needed.

Re: Big Tech to EU: "Drop Dead"

#322

Post by deadlocked »

Nasrudith wrote: post #305
LAC-Tech wrote: post #60

Imagine a world in which the EU instead funded research & implementation of public protocols to undermine US big tech? IE, they mention chat clients in the text, why not create something in the spirit of XMPP (or even revive it if the technical merits remain relevant?) I can almost feel it in my bones that there's a protocol behind "feed" websites like twitter & linkedin. Break the walled garden with open standards.…

It is always bizarre to see people advocating for boondoggles like flat out reinventing the wheel but fully government funded this time.

Yeah, but they're simultaneously missing the fact that some of the protocols that underpin things like WhatsApp etc. were developed in the EU, and probably with funding from the EU.

Re: Big Tech to EU: "Drop Dead"

#323

Post by seec »

karma_pharmer wrote: post #230
grishka wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Consoles aren't generally seen by people as general-purpose computers, neither are they marketed as such by their manufacturers. They're seen by most people as appliances for playing video games.

I don't see cellphones as general purpose computers either. For exactly the same reason why I don't see game consoles as general purpose computers: neither one will run arbitrary programs. They only run programs that are blessed by their manufacturer. Both are appliances. I'm really failing to see the distinction here. Big tech will simply declare that phones aren't "general purpose computers". There is no reasonable…

I need to have an app on my phone to manage my health care payment. I don't need a console for anything in particular.

It's hardly the same thing. Some services are not even available on a traditional computer FinTech started as mobile apps and they added website support later. It's stupid but that's how things are, the majority has chosen...

Re: Big Tech to EU: "Drop Dead"

#324

Post by deadlocked »

pheggs wrote: post #254
mackwic wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not that hard for any competent organization: document what PII you store, who has access to it, and what you do with it. Also have an internal procedure to scramble someone's PII on request. If you have a direct or indirect contractual relationship with the person whose PII you are storing, there is nothing more to do. If you don't, ask for permission and store the timestamp of the authorization. That's all. Re…

I must say you really do make it sound simple, and I generally like it. I think the part where I struggle most are the details though. > document what PII you store that part seems doable, the hardest part here are probably figuring out what PII is, and then take care of numerous services logging IP addresses. That's PII, isnt it? What about IPs of phone calls over IP? Or phone numbers stored in phones of numerous em…

The answer to most of these is the same: companies have to show that they are making a reasonable, good faith attempt to comply. If they can show that they have policies, that they have processes to implement the policies, and that their users have read the policies, understand the processes, and are aware of their own responsibilities then there's a strong likelihood that they will not run afoul of the directive.

Re: Big Tech to EU: "Drop Dead"

#325

Post by cess11 »

candiodari wrote: post #250
pas wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

well, not like the platforms currently promote European values :/

This is the EU. Like most governments, if they thought they could get away with it they would not just outlaw Tech Giants, they would outlaw the internet itself, along with any source of information that they cannot easily sue out of existence. Hell, they would outlaw people talking to each other without permission. It was worst with Jose Manuel Barroso at the head of the EU commission, who needed to hide ... well, w…

I've never before heard those numbers mentioned in relation to the Cultural Revolution in China. These numbers are more common: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution#Death_toll

In what way was he "anti-Marx", and is it really that common that leftists become traitors that join the higher echelons of capitalism that Barroso can be considered stereotypical?

Re: Big Tech to EU: "Drop Dead"

#326

Post by thefz »

> Apple appears to be playing a high-stakes game of chicken with EU regulators, effectively saying, “Yes, you have 500 million citizens, but we have three trillion dollars, so why should we listen to you?”

Retreat then and gift 500mil users to your competition, I am pretty sure nothing of value will be lost.

Re: Big Tech to EU: "Drop Dead"

#327

Post by thefz »

NoboruWataya wrote: post #201
bee_rider wrote: post #8

The EU will win this if they want. Their trump card is that, actually, making the EU not a viable market for the most annoying US tech companies would be a huge win for many of their constituents.

I would like this to be true - that the big US tech companies leaving Europe would prompt Europeans to realise they never needed them in the first place, and either turn to local, privacy-respecting (maybe even open source) alternatives or just get their heads out of their phones altogether. But a lot of Europeans are obsessed with these platforms and would probably be extremely pissed off if they lost access to them…

> . But a lot of Europeans are obsessed with these platforms and would probably be extremely pissed off if they lost access to them.

Platforms will be at fault then, for not complying, and not the EU. Laws are made for a greater good (privacy, customers' rights) that I think will greatly offset not having tiktok.

Re: Big Tech to EU: "Drop Dead"

#328

Post by thefz »

candiodari wrote: post #250
pas wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

well, not like the platforms currently promote European values :/

This is the EU. Like most governments, if they thought they could get away with it they would not just outlaw Tech Giants, they would outlaw the internet itself, along with any source of information that they cannot easily sue out of existence. Hell, they would outlaw people talking to each other without permission. It was worst with Jose Manuel Barroso at the head of the EU commission, who needed to hide ... well, w…

Dude, who hurt you? (An European I guess?)

Re: Big Tech to EU: "Drop Dead"

#330

Post by planck01 »

LAC-Tech wrote: post #221
pythonic_hell wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The irony of your statement is that many of the core tech, protocol and software systems underpinning these big tech companies were developed in the EU.

In the EU != by the EU. By EU I'm referring to the governing bodies, ie my reference to the EU regulating things. If you re-read what I said with that in mind, does it make more sense to you?

The EU is not a tech company. Then yet, they are funding these kinds of things. Check for instance https://gaia-x.eu/

However, these projects don't really have good results and generally are better made in the private sector. Same in the US actually

Post reply on HN