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Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

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Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#101

Post by rebolek »

jonesjohnson wrote: post #12
schnitzelstoat wrote: post #5

> One change that’s likely to please almost everyone is a reduction in Europe’s ubiquitous cookie banners and pop-ups. Under the new proposal, some “non-risk” cookies won’t trigger pop-ups at all, and users would be able to control others from central browser controls that apply to websites broadly. Finally!

the issue was never the law. the issue were the 100s of tracking cookies and that websites would use dark patterns or simply not offer a "no to all" button at all (which is against the law, btw.) Most websites do. not. need. cookies. It's all about tracking and surveillance to show you different prices on airbnb and booking.com to maximise their profits. https://noyb.eu/en/project/cookie-banners (edit: link)

I think that most websites need cookies. I have a website with short stories. It lets you set font size and dark/bright theme, nothing special. Do I want to store your settings on server? No, why should I waste my resources? Just store it in your browser! Cookies are perfect for that. Do I know your settings? No, I don't, I don't care. I set a cookie, JS reads it and changes something on client. No tracking at all. Cookies are perfect for that. People just abuse them like everything else, that's the problem, not cookies.

And BTW because I don't care about your cookies, I don't need to bother you with cookie banner. It's that easy.

Also, if I would implement user management for whatever reason, I would NOT NEED to show the banner also. ONLY if I shared the info with third side. The rules are simple yet the ways people bend them are very creative.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#102

Post by Qwertious »

zdragnar wrote: post #19
rpastuszak wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure why this is being downvoted?

The premise is that the intent of the law was good, so everyone should naturally change their behavior to obey the spirit of the law. That isn't how people work. The law was poorly written and even more poorly enforced. Attempts at "compliance" made the web browsing experience worse.

The law wasn't poorly written, most websites just don't follow the law. Yes, they're doing illegal things, but it turns out enforcement is weak so the lawbreaking is so ubiquitous that people think it's the fault of the law itself.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#103

Post by harperlee »

r3knak wrote: post #100

Good, GDPR is useless for the consumer as 99% of the people click "Accept everything". It's only a few of us who care about this kind of thing and we shouldn't have policy made for the 1%. I hope the changes they implement will actually benefit small startups instead of relaxing regulations for large data hoarders.

GDPR is not about the cookie banner, it has massive implications around the whole lifecycle of data. For example you need to be able to gather all data of a particular client for them to access, and they have the right for all their data to be erased.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#104

Post by baggy_trough »

harperlee wrote: post #103
r3knak wrote: post #100

Good, GDPR is useless for the consumer as 99% of the people click "Accept everything". It's only a few of us who care about this kind of thing and we shouldn't have policy made for the 1%. I hope the changes they implement will actually benefit small startups instead of relaxing regulations for large data hoarders.

GDPR is not about the cookie banner, it has massive implications around the whole lifecycle of data. For example you need to be able to gather all data of a particular client for them to access, and they have the right for all their data to be erased.

Far less than 1% of people would care about either.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#105

Post by merqurio »

The news feels bittersweet. With 10+ of experience in healthcare AI, I have seen enough shitty products to genuinely welcome strict regulation for critical sectors; however, this shift threatens to dilute the sense of urgency that was growing in the sector.

We recently built a platform specifically to navigate the complex intersection of MDR (Medical Device Regulation) and the AI Act, relying on the pressure of hard deadlines. By introducing flexible timelines linked to technical standards, the EU risks signaling that compliance is a secondary concern, potentially stalling the momentum... and at this point patient safety is my biggest concern, not our platform

This introduces chaos rather than relief. Companies do not need lower standards; they need clarity.

We can compete effectively against high standards as long as the rules are clear. EU AI Act was clear. This proposal substitutes the certainty of a high bar with the confusion of a sliding scale, which may hinder the industry more than it helps :/

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#106

Post by bitpush »

JoshTriplett wrote: post #89
bitpush wrote: post #16

Incredible to see the 180 both from EU and also from the HN sentiment. HN was cheering on as EU went after Big Tech companies, especially Meta. Meta is no perfect company, but the amount of 'please stick it to them' was strong (I reckon that is still a bridge too far for a lot of folks here). Even extreme proponents of big tech villanery in the US (Lina Khan's FTC) is also facing losses (They just lost their monument…

> HN was cheering on as EU went after Big Tech companies HN is not a hive mind or a monoculture. Every time the EU goes after some company, some people always cheer, some people always boo, and some people will cheer some and boo others based on the impact/nuance of the particular policy or company.

This is accurate, however if you look at any thread you can see an overwhelming consensus of opinion. The diversity of views are not equal - in the sense that there isnt equal number of for and against comments.

In most of the threads I have observed about EU action on Big Tech, the overwhelming majority of thoughts are 'for', with perhaps few dissenting thoughts.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#107

Post by shaky-carrousel »

schnitzelstoat wrote: post #5

> One change that’s likely to please almost everyone is a reduction in Europe’s ubiquitous cookie banners and pop-ups. Under the new proposal, some “non-risk” cookies won’t trigger pop-ups at all, and users would be able to control others from central browser controls that apply to websites broadly. Finally!

That's the real news. There's no U turn, no weakening of GDPR. This article is propaganda.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#108

Post by 1970-01-01 »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #76
GardenLetter27 wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hackers should know the government is never on your side.

> Hackers should know the government is never on your side Never is naive. Hackers should understand governments are complex, dynamic and occasionally chaotic systems. Those systems can be influenced and sometimes controlled by various means. And those levers are generally available to anyone with a modicum of intelligence and motivation.

Yep. The FBI swings from lawful good to lawful evil on a case by case basis. Trusting them is dangerous, but a world where they can be ignored is more dangerous.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#110

Post by danishSuri1994 »

I sympathize with the startup argument: heavy compliance costs can stifle early innovation. But the solution shouldn’t be “weaker rules.” It should be smarter rules, clearer safe harbors for small actors, browser-level consent primitives for users, and stronger enforcement against dark-pattern CMPs. That keeps privacy meaningful without killing small businesses.
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