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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

#341

Post by pseudalopex »

tdrz wrote: post #233
HWR_14 wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What I really want to see is Meta getting irrelevant ON MERIT. That's impossible. The network effects are too strong. Facebook may die, or even Instagram, but WhatsApp is so intermeshed with the majority of the world that it can only be taken out by a government.

I uninstalled WhatsApp last year after I sent a message to my most important contacts that I'm switching to Signal. In the mean time, I convinced a grand total of 2 people to install Signal so we can talk. Also, I realized that actually not being part in some of the WhatsApp groups that I left behind has quite a lot of advantages! Yes, the network effects are very strong, but each of us has the possibility of making…

Social connections can be a large sacrifice.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#342

Post by Telaneo »

cm2012 wrote: post #232
hdgvhicv wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What were they doing with user data?

Number one use case is sending anonymized and hashed data back to the ad platform to trigger conversion events. Essentially all modern advertising is done algorithmically. The platform takes conversion events (a typical event is "someone fills out a form"), that signal is sent to the platforms, and the platforms use it to serve your ad to other people who may be interested. GDPR as it is means you need opt-in to do t…

> GDPR as it is means you need opt-in to do this, so it greatly reduces the effectiveness of online ad targeting.

Good! I don't want ads to be a thing in the first place. It's a good thing that industry is being strangled by regulation.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#343

Post by l5870uoo9y »

wizzwizz4 wrote: post #329
l5870uoo9y wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree with this otherwise seemingly reasonable position. Draghi's latest report pointed out that overregulation is a major problem in the EU and costs EU companies the equivalent of a 50% tariff (if I remember correctly). Of course, Draghi's report has led to nothing more than a few headlines.

That 50% figure seems extremely dubious. I'd expect either methodological failures, or a definition of "costs" that I disagree with (e.g. fair-competition regulations preventing price-hikes, "costing" EU companies the profit they could obtain from a cartel). However, skimming the report ( https://commission.europa.eu/topics/competitiveness/draghi-r... ), I can't find the 50% figure.

> Mario Draghi has argued that the EU's internal barriers, which are equivalent to a high tariff rate, cost more than external tariffs. He has cited IMF estimates that show these internal barriers are equivalent to a \(45\%\) tariff on manufactured goods and a \(110\%\) tariff on services. These internal market restrictions, which include regulatory hurdles and bureaucracy, hinder cross-border competition and have a significant negative impact on the EU's economy.

Source: https://iep.unibocconi.eu/europes-internal-tariffs-why-imfs-...

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#344

Post by Telaneo »

omnimus wrote: post #315
Ylpertnodi wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> All consuming vague regulations like GDPR increase the cost of a startup by 500%. Source?

I would say it's a lot more than 500%. If your business is based on doing things that are illegal under GDPR then the cost of doing that startup is close to infinite. But that's kinda the point of GDPR.

This. Sure, it's X% more difficult to do Y in Europe, because Europe doesn't want you to do Y, either at all, or unless you clean up after yourself so the costs aren't just eaten up by the environment or whatever, or unless you do it without causing harm. That's not a problem. That's the system working as intended.

Sure, Europe doesn't have it's own Microsoft, probably because of regulations like this, but I don't want Europe to have its own Microsoft, because Microsoft, for the most part, sucks.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#346

Post by Aunche »

paulryanrogers wrote: post #240
Aunche wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hackernews has always been a venture capitalist forum and has always had a significant minority that generally sides with money. I don't think that is substantially different today. Most European regulations seemed to be less about helping regular people and more about protecting European ad firms, many of which are even shadier than big tech.

> ...more about protecting European ad firms, many of which are even shadier than big tech. Where can I read more about that phenomenon?

There are lots of companies like this:

https://zeotap.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Zeotap_-Time-t...

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#347

Post by imiric »

rckt wrote: post #270

I get that too many regulations is a bad thing. But when we talk privacy and personal data there should be no gray zone. It has to be black and white. When I see a stupid cookie banner I search for "Reject all". There's no some data that companies can collect and process without my consent, they just shouldn't be able to collect anything without me actively opting in. Business never respects anything, but profits. Se…

Do you really think that clicking on any button on cookie consent popups actually does anything? It's just an illusion of choice. The reality is that these sites will still track you, whether that's via cookies or, more commonly today, fingerprinting. When they list thousands of "partners" with "legitimate interest", it's a hint that there's a multi-billion-dollar industry of companies operating behind the scenes that will do whatever it takes to profile and track you, regardless of what you click on a silly form. Regulations like the GDPR don't come close to curtailing this insanity.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#348

Post by drstewart »

saubeidl wrote: post #166
m00dy wrote: post #8

I used to live and work in EU, get out of EU before it is too late.

I did the opposite, I moved to the EU before it is too late. It's the only power left that stands for rule of law.

Wow. Powerful statement. I suppose other places are probably scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws, unlike the glorious EU?

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#349

Post by saubeidl »

drstewart wrote: post #348
saubeidl wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did the opposite, I moved to the EU before it is too late. It's the only power left that stands for rule of law.

Wow. Powerful statement. I suppose other places are probably scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws, unlike the glorious EU?

I disagree with this move. However, I disagree with moves made in other places even more. Especially the US has been moving away from rule of law at a rapid pace.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#350

Post by tonyhart7 »

zelphirkalt wrote: post #302
tsoukase wrote: post #292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Using an Ad blocker I feel regret for stealing the site's revenue. So I allow them to collect my personal data. Anyways, I think most of them will not respect my rejection.

A site that cannot exist without collecting not needed personal data and without selling out its visitors, has no justification of continuing to exist. Don't let them guilt-trip you.

that just shallow and one sided argument that never respect another side of coin
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