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New Service Blocks EU Users So Companies Can Save Thousands on GDPR Compliance (bleepingcomputer.com)
Catalin Cimpanu, reporting for BleepingComputer: A new service called GDPR Shield made the rounds last week and for all the wrong reasons. The service, advertised as a piece of JavaScript that webmasters embed on their sites, blocks EU-based users from accessing a website, just so the parent company won't have to deal with GDPR compliance. GDPR, or General Data Protection Regulation, is a new user and data privacy regulation slated to come into effect in the EU three weeks from now, on May 25, 2018.
The new regulation brings a wealth of protections to user privacy but is a nightmare for companies doing business in Europe. The reasons are plenty, but the humongous fines for failing to meet GDPR standards are at the top of the list for most companies ($24 million or 4% of a company's annual worldwide revenue -- whichever is higher). There's also the 72-hour deadline to reveal data breaches and the necessity of hiring a so-called "Data Protection Officer." Plus, GDPR also mandates that companies must inform users on what data they collected about them, allow them to review the data, and even let users delete the data from the company's servers if they so wish.
The new regulation brings a wealth of protections to user privacy but is a nightmare for companies doing business in Europe. The reasons are plenty, but the humongous fines for failing to meet GDPR standards are at the top of the list for most companies ($24 million or 4% of a company's annual worldwide revenue -- whichever is higher). There's also the 72-hour deadline to reveal data breaches and the necessity of hiring a so-called "Data Protection Officer." Plus, GDPR also mandates that companies must inform users on what data they collected about them, allow them to review the data, and even let users delete the data from the company's servers if they so wish.
geofencing is not exactly a new concept. At least it finally is being used for good (privacy protection) rather then for evil (arbitrary geographical media blocking)
A new service called GDPR Shield made the rounds last week and for all the wrong reasons. The service, advertised as a piece of JavaScript that webmasters embed on their sites, blocks EU-based users from accessing a website, just so the parent company won't have to deal with GDPR compliance.
This is just the type of service you would hope exists to make sure citizens can decide what levels of privacy they want and companies can decide what level of privacy they are willing to provide. For some time now we will see many stories of companies improving their privacy, companies pulling out of the EU market, and companies being fined by the EU. All are good and expected outcomes of rules such as the GDPR.
-- All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
As a EU resident, I don't mind if companies are choosing to block EU if they can't comply with privacy rules. I'd rather not do business with those companies.
It depends on how onerous the GDPR really is. The biggest one is the requirement to have a Data Protection Officer, but this is required "only for those controllers and processors whose core activities consist of processing operations which require regular and systematic monitoring of data subjects on a large scale or of special categories of data or data relating to criminal convictions and offences." For the rest it is pretty basic stuff: you need to be aware of the rules, and prepared to take action e.g. in case of a data leak. A lot of it really is common sense stuff, that is if you're a conscientious operator.
The big companies will have no trouble complying, paying lip service or working around the rules. The smaller companies might at first decide to forget about Europe. This happened with a couple of smaller service providers when the EU VAT rules were changed: I got a few notices that such-and-such company was no longer able to provide their service in Europe. However they probably looked at the amount of business they were getting from Europe, had another look at the rules and found them not that hard to comply with, and removed the block.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
If you don't want to have to deal with the laws of a certain country, should have the right to not do business inside that country.
Of course, that leaves a big underserved market. In less than 4 years someone will come along and serve them, while abiding by the laws they hate.
Which could very well lead to those companies losing world wide market share as those new, privacy conscience companies expand out of their underserved market into the general world wide marketplace.
As for the laws they are trying to avoid? We need them in our country.
excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
If the short-bus version actually respects people's privacy instead of spying on visitors, then maybe we need more short buses.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
What would you say to an American cop that wanted to search your EU located servers based on American laws?
That's the same answer the EUcrats will get.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'