"'It’s one thing to have rules on the books,' said Mr. Tene. 'It’s quite another thing to implement these rules on the ground.'" True enough, Mr. Tene, and enforcement requires the preexistence of rules, in law-abiding societies.
The GDPR is a laudable effort to give consumers more power of the data in an increasingly data-driven economy.
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No worries. I have read that the Europeans cannot figure out all the “what if’s and “what about’s” built into the language of the new laws. More Chaos and Confusion are upcoming.
1
We need the same HERE!
5
Here in the United States, we often look to California as the State that leads the nation in terms of pollution controls, gas mileage standards, consumer product safety regulations and other forms of personal protections. It seems that in this case, we look to the Europeans and the G.D.P.R. to save us from the evil empire of Silicon Valley.
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W, since you do not live out here in CA, don't imagine that what you believe is correct. This place is actually a mess, run by the rich who use the illegals to support their power.
3
This was the right thing to do. Go Europe!!!
The tracker activity on my browser today is about half of usual.
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Our corrupt and incompetent politicians have shown their disdain for average Americans by failing to pass a universal privacy law. Until they are held accountable, unwarranted surveillance that would have been considered unacceptable only a generation ago will likely continue.
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No the EU is simply the best inventor of regulations used to fine US firms. After all, someone has to pay for socialism and it isn’t them.
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That's what it is all about. Revenues from rich Americans who get caught up in the impossible tangle of EU rules.
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The U.S. started the personal computer revolutions. China is on the forefront of what people want from their personal computers. Europe has the nattering nabobs of negativism, an important role.
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As usual, "American Exceptionalism," or our foolish belief in it, precludes us from following in the footsteps of other countries who handle tough problems, successfully. Only WE are allowed to lead the pack. And, currently doing a great job of that, right?
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America innovates and produces. Europe regulates and fines.
I suspect their motivation is based more on envy than anything else.
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Personal information is the currency of the Internet. Services and content are free in exchange for the opportunity business has to offer you goods and services. Take that away and they will be forced to charge us for things we now take for granted as no charge.
A great example is Facebook. It began as a free service for millions of people to connect. However, when it became a business and Mark Zuckerberg became a billionaire, they had to find ways to monetize the services so that investors would buy their stock. Hence, the cluttered and annoying Timeline we all now have.
My dad always said nothing is free.
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Rich--The charge comes, later. Like during an election period. It's a poor trade.
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Rich--MY dad always said things are worth what you pay for them. We are a people who seem to know the price of everything, but the value of nothing.
3
Europe appears to have eclipsed the U.S. when it comes to mitigating online privacy violations. I have been receiving privacy update notifications from virtually every company that I do business with advising me of revised privacy regulations. Most are citing compliance with the G.D.P.R. This reminds me of another progressive move that Europe set the standard for in the 1990s, the so-called CE mark which has to do with health, safety, and environmental protection.
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This is what it looks like when governments place the protection of citizens above the protection of corporate profits. Similarly, the EU's REACH regulation puts the burden of proof on companies to show a chemical is safe, rather than on regulators to show that a it is harmful. Then there's universal health care...
These types of regulations cannot happen in the US until Citizen's United is struck down and bribery is made illegal. Until then, we'll continue to have a government by and for the plutocrats and the industries they control.
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The only real solution is a ban on collecting any personal information beyond what credit agencies already know for banking purposes and credit ratings, which is likely too much anyway. Internet ads would be untargeted, meant for the general user. Amazon might suggest a purchase like your last and Netflix a movie from your past viewing. Google and Facebook could charge a monthly fee if necessary, restoring some competition from lower cost competitors. Transfer of data and account contacts, information to other firms must be possible. One dollar a month from Facebook users would equal the companies current revenue. Such a pittance is a very small price to end the privacy invasion.
7
I agree that we need some constraints to data collection but I would rather see the US or an international group set these rules. I wonder if these digital companies were European would we have the same rules? BTW why is it that countries that have not done the pioneering work are always the loudest later on. Next I suppose will be the order by the European countries that Facebook or Google have to split apart. When Britain becomes fully independent of the EU, will they set different and conflicting rules?
1
It's a shame that our best hope for the protection of online privacy are the often-maligned faceless Eurocrats in Brussels, and not the duly elected representatives in the two houses of Congress! The US used to be a world leader in defending individual rights, including the right to privacy, but that got skewed to protecting mostly the rights of a small group of people to make money hand over fist from the lives of others. I am still stunned that Facebook was able to give itself the right to harvest data from anybody who happens to appear in the contacts, emails and text messages of those who actually signed up with Facebook - simply unbelievable!
12
Pete--Are you referring to our "duly elected representatives" who habitually ignore the will of their constituents, but rather do the bidding of their corporate/wealthy bribers? Okay, just wanted to clarify.
4
Yes. I chose to call them that to underline the fact that a majority of those of us who are allowed and can be bothered to vote actually elect them. Even though that majority is usually only a minority of all eligible voters. I hope that all those of us who stay home or don't even vote by mail in the primaries and the general election realize that not voting only rewards those special interests who are gaming our democracy.
3
GDPR is not only a tech law, though one of the reasons it was passed relates to the increased amount of data in the world because of online interactions. But GDPR applies to ALL personal data, even paper documents and photographs, and biometric data, health care data, etc. Most US media is framing this as an attack on tech companies or similar, but it is called "General" for a reason.
9
The last quote is the most significant.
“It’s one thing to have rules on the books,” said Mr. Tene. “It’s quite another thing to implement these rules on the ground.”
What the GDPR does do is give individuals a means of pushing back at the big tech companies. Nevertheless, I think it will be difficult to enforce.
4
My mailbox has been stuffed for the last two days with GDPRs. Guess we're all getting them now.
1
Thank God the Europeans are protecting us from ourselves. We can't seem to do it these days.
27
This is a great first step towards putting people in charge of their own information and an encouraging move towards empowering people rather than corporations. The optimist in me sees the early sprouts of a more fundamental change away from corporatism.
The global repercussions of a European decision also neatly illustrate why it's a stupid idea to start a trade war with the EU.
16
Nice that everyone will benefit to some degree from the EU's stronger privacy policy.
Maybe next they can help change our healthcare system.
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