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Study: Google is the biggest beneficiary of the GDPR

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Re: Study: Google is the biggest beneficiary of the GDPR

#61

Post by Drakim »

kristianc wrote: post #51
Drakim wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing about what you are saying here is related to my point though. If I use one product of google, it does not mean they have a "business relationship" that entitles them to tracking me as a third party on random websites. And even if it somehow did, I could merely opt to not be part of that, and neither the website nor google can deny me service for opting out. That's one of the main aspects of GDPR, you can't ma…

If you’re using a signed in Google Account or a signed in Chrome Browser, Google will argue that the tracking is compatible with the services that you have agreed to as it helps provide a more personalized experience.

But that's not how GDPR works, if I agree to use a service it does not mean I agree to be tracked for a "more personalized experience".

Facebook is even worse, they track me without me even having any interaction with them prior.

Re: Study: Google is the biggest beneficiary of the GDPR

#62

Post by buboard »

mattlondon wrote: post #34

Is Google the biggest "beneficiary" here, or is it more that a lot of shady operations were totally shafting people on their data/privacy and so they've finally had to close down or expose themselves to massive legal risks? The significant drop in trackers on EU sites reported here (and not a huge surge in Google trackers on EU sites) suggests to me that it is other adtech/tracker companies that have lost, rather tha…

it is google because they have the largest pot of data which allows them to very granularly target you with confidence. Whatever data the shady small business had, it was probably partial, old and outdated.

Re: Study: Google is the biggest beneficiary of the GDPR

#63

Post by hannasanarion »

TekMol wrote: post #20

Plus it knocked a lot of potential competitors off the internet. I know multiple young startups and entrepreneurs in Europe that killed their projects/ideas because the additional burden of coping with GDPR was too much for them.

Sounds like you need better friends.

The only way GDPR could kill a business in the conception stage is if the business model was to secretly collect user data and sell it for profit. A business that can't get started due to GDPR is a business that never deserved to exist.

Re: Study: Google is the biggest beneficiary of the GDPR

#65

Post by _nosaj »

anoncake wrote: post #49
rdlecler1 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe you don’t but can you speak for everyone? The poster seemed to think that was undesirable.

We, the people of the EU, have democratically decided that we don't want them.

How did that democracy work with articles 11 and 13?

The European Union is the antithesis of democracy. If it wasn't, those directives would never have passed.

Re: Study: Google is the biggest beneficiary of the GDPR

#66

Post by anoncake »

_nosaj wrote: post #65
anoncake wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We, the people of the EU, have democratically decided that we don't want them.

How did that democracy work with articles 11 and 13? The European Union is the antithesis of democracy. If it wasn't, those directives would never have passed.

Democracy does not mean that every decision is good.

Re: Study: Google is the biggest beneficiary of the GDPR

#67

Post by stordoff »

ericdykstra wrote: post #8

Is there any evidence of GDPR having the desired effect for which it was put in place? Is citizens' data being protected more than before? The second-order effects that everyone predicted are already happening (big tech companies change nothing significant, many small companies shutting down). The long-term and unforseen second-order effects have yet to bear fruit, as far as I know (please let me know if you've seen…

It's led to one company I use supporting (and forcing) HTTPS. They should have been doing it before, but it's still a win. They've also stopped asking for addresses, and are removing existing addresses:

> To reduce the amount of personal data we process for you, we have stopped asking for address, city, state and zip code in our shop (we do not ship physical goods anyway). Also, we are in the process of removing all existing address information from our customer database.

Re: Study: Google is the biggest beneficiary of the GDPR

#68

Post by kristianc »

Drakim wrote: post #61
kristianc wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you’re using a signed in Google Account or a signed in Chrome Browser, Google will argue that the tracking is compatible with the services that you have agreed to as it helps provide a more personalized experience.

But that's not how GDPR works, if I agree to use a service it does not mean I agree to be tracked for a "more personalized experience". Facebook is even worse, they track me without me even having any interaction with them prior.

That’s exactly how GDPR works - Google will say that they are protected under the legitimate interest exemption.

Re: Study: Google is the biggest beneficiary of the GDPR

#69

Post by wastedhours »

mattlondon wrote: post #34

Is Google the biggest "beneficiary" here, or is it more that a lot of shady operations were totally shafting people on their data/privacy and so they've finally had to close down or expose themselves to massive legal risks? The significant drop in trackers on EU sites reported here (and not a huge surge in Google trackers on EU sites) suggests to me that it is other adtech/tracker companies that have lost, rather tha…

You're not looking for a surge from Google though - they're already the 1000lb gorilla, what you're looking for is the limitation in competition, which is what's occurring.

As with a lot of EU digital regulations, they're essentially centralising power to organisations who have the legal resources to either go through the process (and find loopholes), or the cash to fight it.

A lack of competition in the tracking space won't really mean the practice will disappear, but that the organisation who has the biggest consent database will take all the money by default.

I might be biased as a marketer, but I'd prefer to have multiple small companies who're tracking limited pieces of info about me across different parts of my web experience (and who may fuck up occasionally), than one huge company knowing 100% of my information.

(Edit: as a side note, the linked article is doing something shitty with the scrolling on the site, which is more annoying than semi-targeted advertising to me...)

Re: Study: Google is the biggest beneficiary of the GDPR

#70

Post by virgilp »

> Although the number of trackers is decreasing overall, a few large tracking operators such as Google receive even more user data.

This won't be a popular opinion here, but... it's actually good news/ what you observe is GDPR protecting user privacy. You think that Google is bad? Then, you probablly haven't seen the smaller players. With e.g. Mouseflow, you can literally watch users enter their personal email in your "register account" field, then change their mind and use a disposable account. Or glean other kind of sensitive details (passwords too, I think).

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