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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

#701

Post by morshu9001 »

Terr_ wrote: post #680
morshu9001 wrote: post #519

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a hacker, I don't care about cookies or what the EU thinks about them. Disable them if you really care. Or at least use a browser that blocks 3P cookies (not Chrome).

What about when the lack of cookies makes everything break and you cannot work around it because it's too much JS to reverse-engineer, and/or it's a copyright-felony in your country to develop workarounds? "I'll use my l33t hacker skillz to avoid it on my own" is a losing strategy in the long run. A similar thing happens with the proliferation of cameras and license-plate readers.

You can keep them enabled and clear at end of session. I'm not saying this makes you untrackable; that is a losing strategy due to all the non-cookie tracking, but also the cookie popup isn't helping there.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#702

Post by 1718627440 »

int_19h wrote: post #548
zelphirkalt wrote: post #524

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's why we need to realize, that decisions in the small constitute what happens in the large. If some person comes and tells me to implement dark patterns into the consent popup, I'll tell them that this is illegal. I'll also tell people, when their current consent is manufactured or when their cookie/consent popup does not conform with GDPR. Been there, done that. Only unfortunate, that it was not my role to deal…

It's not that people who implement those things don't care , per se. It's that they care about getting their paycheck more (or, in the current climate, retaining their job). And they are also acutely aware that if they refuse to do it, a replacement that won't is easy to find.

Your moral integrity is tested, when your paycheck depends on it, not when it doesn't have repercussions to you.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#703

Post by ptsneves »

senordevnyc wrote: post #522
hekkle wrote: post #502

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The cost of compliance also grows, and that disproportionately favors big established players. Not true at all. Most of the harsher regulations only come into effect when the company hits a specific size. Examples from Australia (my country): - Online shops that operate overseas, and import to Australia have to collect sales tax... but only if they make more than $75,000 from Australia per annum. - Social media has…

Actually, online shops that mail stuff to Australian customers who request them to do so don't have to collect or pay any sales tax. The Australian government might stomp their feet and declare otherwise, but they have no legal or jurisdictional authority to do so, nor any real means for enforcement. This trend of countries declaring that everyone on the planet is under their jurisdiction if they mail something there…

> This trend of countries declaring that everyone on the planet is under their jurisdiction if they mail something there (or respond to a network request) is bananas

I disagree.

Imagine I ban health potions in my realm. I am running a Darwininistic experiment to make my people the most resilient people of the world and I want them to succeed through survival of the fittest. I tolerate non magical medicine but anything else will pay 1000% duties or be confiscated. A merchant comes by with a delivery of health potions to "Johnathan Man". The guards point to the "Survival of the ssssttttrrroooong" banner, while the merchant throws a fit saying she has a very powerful uncle that just happens to be a known warlord. The guards laugh, close the gates and go back inside for another pushup context. Meanwhile Johnathan and the merchant complain things about jurisdiction to no one in particular.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#704

Post by sensanaty »

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!

I'm convinced there's a psyop on this site when it comes to GDPR, and I'm only half-joking. If people would bother to read those intrusive banners, they'd notice that their info is being harvested and shared with hundreds, even thousands of "partners". In what universe is this something we should be okay with? Why exactly does some random ecommerce site need to harvest my data and share it with a bajillion "partners" of theirs? Why are we okay with that?

I hate that the psychotic data harvesting assholes behind all these dark patterns emerged victorious by just straight up lying to people and deluding them into thinking GDPR was the issue, and not them and their shitty dark pattern banners

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#705

Post by pbkompasz »

nrhrjrjrjtntbt wrote: post #377
palata wrote: post #370

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a democracy, the government is its citizen. It sucks when you disagree with the majority of the voters, of course. But it's wrong to say that the government is against the majority of the voters: it was elected by them.

A government or president can definitely be against its voters interests.

So the people should talk to their representative. A government becomes authoritarian not only because of an authoritarian leader, but also because of the enablers, people like the spineless Mike Johnson.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#706

Post by nandomrumber »

croon wrote: post #653
erikerikson wrote: post #586

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bad law enforced perfectly is also undesirable.

I'm not convinced. Perfect enforcement would be a great signal exposing bad law much more clearly, so it can be rewritten/scrapped.

Until a bad law takes your friends and family out of the gene pool.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#707

Post by jack_tripper »

wqaatwt wrote: post #655
bjourne wrote: post #566

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is the perfect and correct antidote to any slippery slope argument. If the consequences of the law turns out to be as bad as you say they will be then we adjust the law.

> they will be then we adjust the law. Bizarrely horrible approach. A lot of damage would already be done, most importantly changing the status quo is inherently much harder than doing nothing. So going back won’t necessarily be straightforward. Claiming that “slippery slope” is always a fallacy is a gross misconception and misinterpretation. It varies case by case, very often it can be a perfectly rational argument.…

>Some lines need to be drawn that can never be crossed regardless of any good and well reasoned intentions.

Too late. We already let the government cross the lines during Covid with freedom of movement and freedom of speech restrictions, and they got away with it because it was "for your protection". Now a lot of EU countries are crossing them even more also "for your protection" due to "Russian misinformation" and "far right/hate speech" scaremongering, which at this point is a label applied loosely to anyone speaking against unpopular government policies or exposing their corruption.

And the snowball effect continues. Governments are only increasing their grip on power(looking enviously at what China has achieved), not loosening it back. And worse, not only are they more authoritarian, but they're also practicing selective enforcement of said strict rules with the justification that it's OK because we're doing it to the "bad guys". I'm afraid we aren't gonna go back to the levels of freedom we had in 2014- 2019, that ship has long sailed.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#708

Post by hshdhdhj4444 »

qwertox wrote: post #698

They had enough time to push browser vendors to implement an API which allows the user to specify the preferences, so that the page queries the API, instead of the user. This is a step back. All these years of clicking those banners is now for nothing.

As someone who had to implement GDPR, it would be really frustrating if all people thought it was was the banners (which I’m not even sure was GDPR).

While our company was very good at handling customer data already, it forced us to up even our game.

Other companies, however, were absolutely miserable at it.

GDPR has improved user privacy for the billion+ Internet users across the board, whether they are EU citizens or not, and most won’t even know about it.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#709

Post by bl0rg »

VadimPR wrote: post #677
wg0 wrote: post #644

Europe should make business registration a single one page one step operation first. There are dozens of stories how registering a business alone can take several months and tons of paperwork.

In Sweden and Netherlands it is quite easy and straightforward to register a business, speaking from personal experience. Tax filing is quite straightforward as well, especially for personal income tax.

Starting a company in Sweden requires (uploaded PDF from Bolagsverket to ChatGPT who summarized):

1. Prepare the foundation deed and the articles of association. 2. Identify the beneficial owner(s). 3. Pay the share capital and obtain the bank certificate or auditor’s statement. 4. Submit the registration application for the limited company to the Swedish Companies Registration Office (Bolagsverket) and wait for approval. 5. If applicable: submit a certified copy of your passport (non-Swedish citizens). 6. Apply for F-tax approval and VAT registration and wait for the decision. 7. Register as an employer if you will pay salaries. 8. Keep continuous bookkeeping and prepare the annual accounts each financial year. 9. Submit the annual report to Bolagsverket every year.

Optional:

1. Obtain business and personal insurance. 2. Register trademarks or protect other intellectual property. 3. Choose an auditor if you want one or when the company later reaches the required thresholds. 4. Register a cash register if you accept cash or card payments. 5. Meet requirements for import/export and obtain an EORI number. 6. Follow rules for buying/selling goods or services within or outside the EU. 7. Keep a staff ledger if required for your industry. 8. Follow reverse-charge VAT rules if you operate in construction. 9. Apply for permits if your specific business activity requires them.

This is not what I'd call a straightforward process, personally. Also speaking from personal experience. Sorry for the formatting.

Re: Europe is scaling back GDPR and relaxing AI laws

#710

Post by sensanaty »

legitster wrote: post #153
aurareturn wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So they finally admit that it was a mistake. Even EU government websites had annoying giant cookie banners. Yet, some how the vast majority of HN comments defend the cookie banners saying if you don't do anything "bad" then you don't need the banners.

> Yet, some how the vast majority of HN comments defend the cookie banners saying if you don't do anything "bad" then you don't need the banners. There are a LOT of shades of gray when it comes to website tracking and HN commenters refuse to deal with nuance. Imagine running a store, and then I ask you how many customers you had yesterday and what they are looking at. "I don't watch the visitors - it's unnecessary an…

Okay, and why do you need to share whatever info you collect with thousands of random data "partners" if it's just for you to keep track of whatever made up thing you say you need to track? Because in reality that's what GDPR exposed, that random ecomm website selling socks or whatever is sharing everything they know about you with a billion random companies for some unknowable reason.
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