Fastmail offers EU data region • Hacker News Board

Re: Fastmail offers EU data region

#271

Post by inigyou » Sun, Aug 09, 2026, 2:24 PM UTC

eastbound wrote: post #257

benj111 wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The EU is too chicken to let citizen vote every 20 years on whether we should stay in Europe, because then answer would be a big NO. Well us Brits tried that experiment and it isn't seen as a success.

It is a success. UK leaving the EU is a form of democracy. People should have the means to choose their destiny, just like the Bengladeshi or the Timor people. What is not a success is: - The EU taking retaliation against them, - The EU parties overturning members of the Leave party into the Libdem, AFTER being elected (yes, it happened for 16 members, plus the ones who didn't officially switch but stalled the Leave…

The EU hasn't retaliated against the UK for leaving, and it hasn't messed with UK elections as you allegedly.

Taking several votes for such a big decision is good. It prevents impulsive hotheadedness from making a ruinous decision. The UK did vote to leave and then left.

And it ruined the UK. That's why other people are saying it was a bad idea. Not because they didn't vote, but because the thing they voted for ruined them.

Re: Fastmail offers EU data region

#272

Post by inigyou » Sun, Aug 09, 2026, 2:26 PM UTC

Silhouette wrote: post #263

izacus wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everything she does has to be confirmed by the parliament you're electing. Everything else she does needs to be confirmed by representatives of your own member state. Just like EVERY OTHER democracy.

Just like EVERY OTHER democracy. Not really. In most representative democracies it is the elected representatives who initiate new law. In the EU the elected MEPs have no power to do this and it is the role of the unelected Commission to start the process. Meanwhile the Commission is also the "executive branch" of the EU. A great deal of what the commissioners do is not directly subject to approval by the European Pa…

The EU, like most union governments including the USA, was designed to be conservative and not pass things by default. For something to pass the EU, it has to be wanted by both the leaders of all the EU countries (the commission) and the people in all the countries (the parliament). It's similar to the house and senate of the USA

Re: Fastmail offers EU data region

#273

Post by inigyou » Sun, Aug 09, 2026, 2:27 PM UTC

petcat wrote: post #227

JAlexoid wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even being stored in EU doesn't preclude your data from being targeted by signals intelligence. Which is different than requiring US based companies to provide non-US data to American government. Does fastmail have a US presence? If no - then they're not bound at all by US jurisdiction.

> Does fastmail have a US presence? If no - then they're not bound at all by US jurisdiction. This hasn't been true for several years. All Australian companies (and UK companies) are under jurisdiction of the US Cloud Act. Just the same as American companies are. https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-oia/cloud-act-agre...

No, it would be a different act in each country.

They didn't even manage to extradite Kim Dotcom for years.

Re: Fastmail offers EU data region

#274

Post by inigyou » Sun, Aug 09, 2026, 2:28 PM UTC

wolfi1 wrote: post #29

kid64 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're Australian

isn't there this five eyes thingy?

that's surveillance orgs agreeing to cooperate, but they're still just surveillance orgs, all they can do is surveil

Re: Fastmail offers EU data region

#275

Post by inigyou » Sun, Aug 09, 2026, 2:28 PM UTC

SoftTalker wrote: post #138

1over137 wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Something like 99% of email is now done over TLS.

Yes but it will almost always work with self signed or expired certificates, or downgrades to clear text if that's what it takes to deliver the message.

I thought a few years ago Gmail started demanding TLS so now any mail server that anyone cares about supports TLS.

Re: Fastmail offers EU data region

#276

Post by inigyou » Sun, Aug 09, 2026, 2:30 PM UTC

yread wrote: post #213

jacquesm wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, for sure they can pressure them but I highly doubt Hetzner would break the law in Europe to satisfy the US government, they are a lot more to lose here than there. I realize that that is not proof.

I dont share your optimism: The US can just say: let us access this one customer or we will ruin your vpcs in the US. What can you do about it? FDE? Can you keep the keys away from Hetzner? How much hacking would they need to do to get them? Can US government break SecureBoot? Im just happy my business is not important enough

Hetzner US would have no power over Hetzner EU, that's the point. All they can do is beg their parent company the same way law enforcement could beg them directly.

Re: Fastmail offers EU data region

#277

Post by inigyou » Sun, Aug 09, 2026, 2:33 PM UTC

usernomdeguerre wrote: post #165

altairprime wrote: post #8

EU folks, note the warnings threaded throughout this post: this is not currently any sort of panacea against US or AU data hosting risks, but it will make your data noticeably closer to home. Fastmail (Australia) merged with Pobox (Philadelphia) resulting in a complex tri-national law/risk surface when the EU is involved, so go in eyes wide open having read this in full. That everyone will overinterpret “EU data regi…

I think it's not unreasonable to see this as a first, positive, step. It's certainly giving them some benefit of the doubt, but it doesn't seem unreasonable that, say, the EU server and the US backup will in some time be an EU server and an EU backup.

It's either a positive step or it's a deceptive step. It could be to actually improve data security, or it could be to make it look like they're improving data security.

Re: Fastmail offers EU data region

#278

Post by petcat » Sun, Aug 09, 2026, 2:42 PM UTC

inigyou wrote: post #273

petcat wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Does fastmail have a US presence? If no - then they're not bound at all by US jurisdiction. This hasn't been true for several years. All Australian companies (and UK companies) are under jurisdiction of the US Cloud Act. Just the same as American companies are. https://www.justice.gov/criminal/criminal-oia/cloud-act-agre...

No, it would be a different act in each country. They didn't even manage to extradite Kim Dotcom for years.

Kim dotcom was extradited from New Zealand, not Australia. They're different places.

Re: Fastmail offers EU data region

#279

Post by hamper653 » Sun, Aug 09, 2026, 2:44 PM UTC

carlosjobim wrote: post #144

sscaryterry wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not nearly the same thing. Trump and his family have made billions. I cannot say the same of von der Leyen.

Which of those two leaders were elected by the people?

American presidents are notoriously not elected by the people.

Re: Fastmail offers EU data region

#280

Post by inigyou » Sun, Aug 09, 2026, 2:44 PM UTC

petcat wrote: post #278

inigyou wrote: post #273

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it would be a different act in each country. They didn't even manage to extradite Kim Dotcom for years.

Kim dotcom was extradited from New Zealand, not Australia. They're different places.

They're both Five Eyes