Live data from Hacker News

Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

theverge.com

481–490 of 1001 posts

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#481
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…

I've stopped thinking of regulations as a single dial, where more regulations is bad or less regulations is bad. It entirely depends on what is being regulated and how. Some areas need more regulations, some areas need less. Some areas need altered regulation. Some areas have just the right regulations. Most regulations can be improved, some more than others.

>I've stopped thinking of automobile repair as a single dial, where more automobile repair is bad or less automobile repair is bad. It entirely depends on what is being repaired and how. Some areas need more automobile repair, some areas need less. Some areas need altered automobile repairs. Some areas have just the right amount of automobile repair. Most automobile repairs can be improved, some more than others.

you didn't really say anything

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#482
post #391
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…

More regulation , or stronger regulation, as in less wiggle room for businesses, may be a good thing. Case in point: a regulation requiring to disclose the ingredients of food. Too many regulations is almost always a bad thing: numerous pieces of regulation rarely fit together seamlessly. It becomes easier to miss some obscure piece, or to encounter a contradiction, or to find a loophole. The cost of compliance also…

In fact, "too many" is the exact point at which it becomes excessive. :P

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#483

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've stopped thinking of regulations as a single dial, where more regulations is bad or less regulations is bad. It entirely depends on what is being regulated and how. Some areas need more regulations, some areas need less. Some areas need altered regulation. Some areas have just the right regulations. Most regulations can be improved, some more than others.

Unfortunately politics has become the religion of modernity. Nuance and sober analysis like you've suggested do not mix well with religious dogma. It's much easier for people to react emotionally to symbols. For many here, 'GDPR' is a variable that equals 'privacy' in their brain computer. So any criticism of it or its implementation realities, no matter how well argued, will not be met with reasoned response, but in…

>Unfortunately politics has become the religion of modernity.

religion was classically politics. Moses's tablets were Law. the circle of life.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#484
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…

Realistically speaking, how much are people willing to pay for email, communications, cloud backups, social media? This is the hard question.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#485
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…

There has been a change in the community here over the last decade, we've lost a lot of the hacker spirit and have a larger proportion of "chancers", people who are only in tech to "get rich quick". The legacy of ZIRP combined with The Social Network marketing.

>a larger proportion of "chancers", people who are only in tech to "get rich quick"

your complaint was Unassailable Hacker® jwz's complaint about HN more than 10 years ago here's a link (many on HN complain that this is NSFW https://cdn.jwz.org/images/2024/hn.png since there are rarely complaints here that anything else is NSFW, I'd suggest people feel insulted by the message)

the thing that has actually changed since jwz's disgust is the site is now flooded by socialism, the antithesis of get-rich enthusiasm

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#486

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've stopped thinking of regulations as a single dial, where more regulations is bad or less regulations is bad. It entirely depends on what is being regulated and how. Some areas need more regulations, some areas need less. Some areas need altered regulation. Some areas have just the right regulations. Most regulations can be improved, some more than others.

>I've stopped thinking of automobile repair as a single dial, where more automobile repair is bad or less automobile repair is bad. It entirely depends on what is being repaired and how. Some areas need more automobile repair , some areas need less. Some areas need altered automobile repairs . Some areas have just the right amount of automobile repair . Most automobile repairs can be improved, some more than others.…

Well you can't just replace a word with a different word and then act like things are the same. If you do choose to do that, you, at the very least, have to explain how 'automobile repair' and 'regulations' are analogous.

Because in my mind, they are not. There are many, many people ideologically opposed to regulation. I've never met anyone ideologically opposed to auto repair, or even just opposed in general.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#487

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.

You could simply ban targeted advertising, since that's what everyone is actually upset about, and not create insane collateral damage for non-adtech operators who happen to have network services and databases.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#488

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've stopped thinking of regulations as a single dial, where more regulations is bad or less regulations is bad. It entirely depends on what is being regulated and how. Some areas need more regulations, some areas need less. Some areas need altered regulation. Some areas have just the right regulations. Most regulations can be improved, some more than others.

>I've stopped thinking of automobile repair as a single dial, where more automobile repair is bad or less automobile repair is bad. It entirely depends on what is being repaired and how. Some areas need more automobile repair , some areas need less. Some areas need altered automobile repairs . Some areas have just the right amount of automobile repair . Most automobile repairs can be improved, some more than others.…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_equivalence

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#489
post #445

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think anyone cares in the slightest about your 'personal data'? It's garbage and no one would waste energy for it, if it weren't for the ability to serve more effective advertisements. If I'm going to offer an application monetized with Ads, I'm going to use a big ad network like Google which requires cookies to personalize the ads and prevent fraud. I could not care less about collecting your personal data. A…

A blog writer who injects ads cares in an analogy similar to how a low-level street dealer cares about pushing to clients. It provides the income. Further up the chain it goes much further than just ads, up to state actors who try to influence elections all across the globe, based on such data. And with AI a new Wild West wide open to explore.

Selling drugs causes harm.

Targeting political ads? Debatable - whether AI is somehow involved or not.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#490

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

I think there is plenty of diversity of comments, substantially less diversity in voting and flagging.

You can say lots of things, many that go against the hive mind will just get you more or less instantly grayed or even flagged

Post reply on HN