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European Commission plans “digital omnibus” package to simplify its tech laws

politico.eu

71–80 of 143 posts

Re: European Commission plans “digital omnibus” package to simplify its tech laws

#71
post #35
post #5

It's a tricky balance to strike. I don't want EU to fall behind further in the AI race, and I do want them to be more competitive in the tech landscape. At the moment, EU really isn't competitive in tech (and neither in tech salaries) and it leads to a certain amount of 'brain drain' as people move abroad. So while I do understand the need for regulations, they shouldn't regulate themselves into irrelevance. I don't…

I don't think its about regulation, its the mindset. Since some time there's this trend of indie European developers with some who managed to make themselves a name like Peter Levels and be hosted on big podcasters and these people keep calling their projects "startups" and making about as much as a high street kebab shop(in this community they like to boost about their revenues). Levels is famous enough to be interv…

[deleted]

Re: European Commission plans “digital omnibus” package to simplify its tech laws

#72
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

interesting. sounds like the EU is getting the growth trajectory its voters desire, then - best of luck!

Oh no, I live more years, work less hours, and breathe cleaner air, but unfortunately line goes up slightly less than in the US of A.

The reason why you live more years and work less hours is because you are not milked out of enough of that sweet GDP juice.

Big if true and not clear if it's good news or bad news.

Re: European Commission plans “digital omnibus” package to simplify its tech laws

#73
post #60
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think I do, as in I'm pretty sure I've never ever voted for this European Commission thing, neither has any other EU citizen that I know of, and yet they're running the whole show here in Europe. If if walks and quacks like a duck it most certainly is a duck. Granted, they don't have North Korea's interesting military parades, I'll give them that. Later edit: I think you might me on the wrong understanding path by…

You've voted for the people who elect the European Commission, though I'm sure you know that, just conveniently decided to leave it out, you're a known troll on Reddit too.

The ability of citizens to vote doesn’t make the country not a dictatorship. There are many examples here, e.g., Russia, multiple middle eastern countries, etc.

Re: European Commission plans “digital omnibus” package to simplify its tech laws

#74
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Germany's right-wing AfD is on a trajectory to become the largest party. One of their goals: a Dexit. An EU without the main net payer will disintegrate within months.

Brexit worked out so well that it basically quelled any dreams of other EU countries exiting after seeing it just creates a lot of headaches and almost no benefit to then just go back to having trade agreements with the EU while not being part of it.

This is true until there is more countries that leave.

At some point Rome fell.

Re: European Commission plans “digital omnibus” package to simplify its tech laws

#75
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh no, I live more years, work less hours, and breathe cleaner air, but unfortunately line goes up slightly less than in the US of A.

Who's going to pay your pension. Hopefully you have 10 kids. They all want free money, no work, more perks. But who pays for it... maybe "the state". We're pricing ourselves out of the market and guys like the one above clap. Crazy world.

While everybody is fixated on fertility rate, the actual thing important for pensions is the pyramid. And the demographics pyramid of the EU (West of it least) looks pretty ok (not great, not terrible) from 20 y.o upwards. It's not sustainable forever and it rubs the fascists the wrong way for obvious reasons, but it's not even half that bad that the 1.20 number makes you imagine.

It's also very much possible this is a transitive thing and not the new settled norm.

Re: European Commission plans “digital omnibus” package to simplify its tech laws

#76
post #6

I like the EU, but what's annoying about things like this, or the Chat Control law that keeps getting pushed, is that civil society and privacy advocacy groups always need to stay vigilant and keep mobilizing people. It's an attrition game. I wonder what harm companies are even claiming. But honestly makes perfect sense that Germany's current conservative government is in favor of it. Giant GDP boosts are always just…

> civil society and privacy advocacy groups always need to stay vigilant and keep mobilizing people. It's an attrition game. I'm not sure why you are singling out the EU Chat Control, when all the US "tech" sector have been playing this attrition game for 40+ years already... It is indeed an attrition game, and the dominance of the adtech surveillance capitalism is the proof that we are already on the loosing side.

Maybe because that one everyone is used to, and this one is new? We get used to the status quo, but anything new is scary. In this case, chat control is indeed scary, but the existing ad tech mass surveilance does not get much attention.

Re: European Commission plans “digital omnibus” package to simplify its tech laws

#77
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Changing this would require a break with the “green industrial complex”, which is close to untouchable (to many EU politicians). I’m sure like with everything “green” they can get around having to use cheaper, dirty energy by buying enough indulgences^w carbon offsets.

Depending on the class of carbon offset, I think the comparison with indulgences is unnecessarily critical when it actually does net fewer emissions.

The comparison is spot on -- if you smoke sigs and pay somebody who doesn't, you will still get cancer and the other person can get it too if you breath it out into their face.

Until there is no commercial carbon capture, it's all scam and accounting tricks. Sure, paying somebody else to decarbonise instead of yourself works in decarbonisign somebody else, but the emissions should drop across the board all the way to zero.

Re: European Commission plans “digital omnibus” package to simplify its tech laws

#78
I was there during the 2010s and here is what happened:

- I have been at a lot of public debates/consultations in Brussels on the GDPR as early as 2012. I have seen first EU people there screaming at US/BigTech lobby groups trying to influence the debate in their favor.

- When we started to understand what the regulation would look like everybody started to panic about what it would cost to comply in the public and private sector. Everybody started to appoint a Chief Data Office or Chief Data Protection Officer. Consultancy firms were hired everywhere.

- At the same time "The Cloud" was starting to creep up in those organizations, first as what we were calling "shadow IT". But the decisions maker didn't wanted to hear about "The Cloud" or loosing control of their infrastructure.

- After usually a year of study on the GDPR issue the decision makers were told that:

  1/ Our infrastructure and software stack will need deep work to comply and it is gonna cost a fortune.

  2/ The business is asking for agility and is already using the cloud.

  3/ Look Google, AWS and Azure have a "GDPR compliant" certificate from EY (the same firm who is usually hired for compliance study and work).
- So I have seen dozens and dozens of organizations deciding their migration to the cloud between 2016 and 2019. Then of course COVID and homeworking came and it accelerated everything.

So GDPR pushed everybody to hyperscalers ironically, because Big Tech is playing chess and know how decisions are made and how to work the system.

Also I have never seen a big company centering or even using a Hertzner, OVH or Scaleway.

What is probably going on is Big Tech went back to the Commission and explained the new legislation they have to pass.

And my guess is it is not gonna help any EU based AI company stay competitive or get any significant market share.

The EU will give them pennies to compete with OpenAI and Google and tell them that Europeans are smarter than Americans so David should be able to beat Goliath. Also the EU AI models have to be trained on renewable energy or whatever.

Washington is rotten but Brussels is about the same (or worst).

Re: European Commission plans “digital omnibus” package to simplify its tech laws

#79
post #5

It's a tricky balance to strike. I don't want EU to fall behind further in the AI race, and I do want them to be more competitive in the tech landscape. At the moment, EU really isn't competitive in tech (and neither in tech salaries) and it leads to a certain amount of 'brain drain' as people move abroad. So while I do understand the need for regulations, they shouldn't regulate themselves into irrelevance. I don't…

But what is 'tech'? When we say the EU isn't competitive in 'tech', what technology capacity do they lack? I think 'tech' as a category doesnt make much sense any more. It's like saying 'road-based business'. Most companies are 'tech' companies. Ignoring the technical element, what are US megacorps that account for all the GDP growth of the last while? Mostly ad market monopolies, then mostly massive-scale IP theft,…

> what technology capacity do they lack?

Giving money to random tech schmoocks and seeing the valuation of their thing gettign to 1B, then lobbying for laws to make it monopoly. This kind of thing.

That and selling icecream flavor preferences of 1B people to guess who is more susceptible to brainwashing, so you friends can get reelected.

All very nice technology, including the one which destroys entire solar system to make a sacrifice big enough to summon Cthulhu.

Re: European Commission plans “digital omnibus” package to simplify its tech laws

#80
post #15
post #6

I like the EU, but what's annoying about things like this, or the Chat Control law that keeps getting pushed, is that civil society and privacy advocacy groups always need to stay vigilant and keep mobilizing people. It's an attrition game. I wonder what harm companies are even claiming. But honestly makes perfect sense that Germany's current conservative government is in favor of it. Giant GDP boosts are always just…

> Giant GDP boosts are always just one deregulation away, hm? Honestly, reducing the complexity of incorporating and paying taxes in Germany would quickly improve the dire situation of startups here. It's so bad right now that a tax advisor straight up told me to move to a less business-hostile country.

Does the complexity even cost more than 500 eurobucks a year?
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