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by array_key_first 218 days ago
Right, but it's obviously not overreaching, because user's data is taken:

1. Without their consent,

2. Without their knowledge and,

3. Cannot be taken back or denied in a simple way.

There is a problem space here, in which there is zero solution. There is absolutely nothing, _NOTHING_, consumers can do if they want to protect their privacy. And before I hear 'well just don't use...' no - uh uh, that doesn't count. That's not a solution.

So, we need some kind of regulation. And, to be clear, it doesn't need to make violating privacy illegal. It doesn't, and the GPDR doesn't either. It just needs to make it possible for consumers to choose.

A free market is built on consumer choice, that is the core of a free market. It might seem counterintuitive, but regulation that protect consumer choice actually bolster the free market, not impede it.

The "reason" the EU is "struggling" isn't because only big dogs can compete. It's because US companies, which need not follow the rules, exist, and will slurp up the competition.

It's hard to compete with Google because they are cheaters. It's hard to compete with Meta because they are cheaters. They make literally hundreds of billions of dollars off of dark patterns, lies, stealing data, and privacy violations. If you even try to be honest, not even be good, just be honest, you will lose. Because they are not honest.

2 comments

cheaters or not there's no EU tech scene. of course it's hard to compete with a very successful capital-breeding flywheel that's ongoing for about a hundred years.
The answer is to force them to adhere to rules. Not to loosen the rules.