[kmlx]

> The most likely outcome is that smaller companies just don't do business in the EU.

it's one of these:

1. blocking business with the EU

2. just ignoring the local regulations

3. big enough to actually implement GDPR

3.1. implement it partially

3.2. implement it erroneously

3.3. implement it fully

GDPR brought us the wide usage of HTTP code 451 Unavailable For Legal Reasons, the myriad of cookie stuff, endless legislation and litigation. It also split the internet into one more part. Unfortunately the part that was split off was never too successful or important to the rest of the planet.

But it also brought us a new way of thinking about data, and what personal data means. It's just that the implementation sucks big time.

[ohgodplsno]

Companies unwilling to actually protect your personal data and milking everything they can out of you brought you HTTP 451.

Companies lying through their teeth pretending that ePrivacy & GDPR forces them to have a cookie banner.

Companies (and clueless HN posters) that lie to you, telling you that GDPR is impossible to implement, and that if you even get the slightest thing wrong, you'll get fined the maximum fine.

Fines have always been a last resort, or for egregious and willful violations of the GDPR. Your company doesn't implement it properly and it goes all the way to a court ? For almost all cases, the court will simply tell you "you have X days to be GDPR compliant". Said X being more than 90.

[MauranKilom]

> It's just that the implementation sucks big time.

Yes, the way companies are "implementing" GDPR compliance sucks, even though GDPR compliance is not that complicated. That should tell you that those companies think it is more profitable to annoy you than to have a privacy-compatible business model.

Github, for example, gets it right. It only stores data it needs for fulfilling the services it provides to you, so there is no need for cookie banners and similar. That's exactly how the GDPR intends it to work. The problem is companies dragging their feet and trying to fool you into thinking it's the fault of the GDPR that they don't respect your privacy. Incredibly backwards, but sadly it seems to work.