| >Are users any better off now because those companies got fined? Yes >Did those companies stop collecting user data? Maybe not google so much, but other companies certainly stopped or collect a lot less. And it's still early, and there is plenty of low hanging fruit for GDPR enforcement to hit. >Has online privacy improved because of those fines? The full effects remain to be seen, but yes, it has improved. Maybe not for you, but for me it certainly has, in particular with German businesses I use. Aside from regulations, it also fueled and still fuels public discussion, especially in the tech space. Where half a decade back everybody would have ignored e.g. GitLab's email informing users and customers that they are going to roll out third party tracking, but this time around the backslash was so swift and hard GitLab went back to the drawing board (goof for them!). On top of that, the EU inspired similar laws around the world including most the (somewhat lenient) California Consumer Privacy Act that comes into effect next year. |