relics443 (u/relics443)

_doky commented on · Posted by u/eigenspace

_doky · 8 years ago

Great story and all, but this piece is obviously written as an attack on Trump for things he didn't do, and failures that never happened to him.

When will the media get that this doesn't work?

relics443 commented on So Your Startup Received the Nightmare GDPR Letter jacquesmattheij.com/so-yo... · Posted by u/janvdberg

Maarten88 · 8 years ago

You do not need any consent for essential services. But you do need to make sure that those services do not sell your users personal information to third parties, and make sure you can comply with other GDPR requirements (right to be forgotten etc) by getting a data processor agreement with that core service. You are responsible for what your suppliers do.

If you would have built your whole app on "free" services for which your users pay with their personal information, that would be problematic under GDPR. And rightfully so.

relics443 · 8 years ago

So now the EU is in charge of how I decide to build my app, and is trying to dictate what suppliers I can use?

What if I decide that crash reporting is an essential service (it is), and the EU's lawyers decide that it's not? Who is going to pay my legal fees, and potential fine? I should be on the hook because some schmuck uses a service that I provide for free (which essentially means I'm paying for it with my time), and is upset that I may not be handling his data in the way that the EU says I should be? The sane solution would be to allow me to tell this individual that he cannot use the app if he doesn't consent. But here comes the EU telling me that I must allow him to use the app.

relics443 commented on So Your Startup Received the Nightmare GDPR Letter jacquesmattheij.com/so-yo... · Posted by u/janvdberg

kerkeslager · 8 years ago

You think that an opening dialog will annoy users more than having a service entirely blocked in their country?

relics443 · 8 years ago

So the rest of the world should get annoyed with the opening dialog, so that the EU doesn't have to get blocked? Sounds like this could be solved by a proper solution, which the GDPR is not.

relics443 commented on So Your Startup Received the Nightmare GDPR Letter jacquesmattheij.com/so-yo... · Posted by u/janvdberg

relics443 · 8 years ago

I'm beginning to highly doubt that anyone defending the GDPR has ever had any responsibilities that included:

1. Running a tech company

2. Funnels, conversions, and retentions

3. Writing software

Either that or they just want to watch the world burn.

relics443 commented on So Your Startup Received the Nightmare GDPR Letter jacquesmattheij.com/so-yo... · Posted by u/janvdberg

DmenshunlAnlsis · 8 years ago

Handling non-consent. WTF! So if the user doesn't give consent to something that 99% of the population doesn't understand, I'm not allowed to prevent them from using the app.

This is like a living, breathing example of why GDPR had to be written the way it was, so that arrogant techbros couldn’t rationalize their way around to screwing everyone over for a quick dollar. It’s also a perfect example of why you get zero sympathy. “But maaaa, it’s hurting my funnel!” Good.

relics443 · 8 years ago

Did you read any further? If I can't prevent them from using the app, then I have to solve an impossible problem. Namely providing a fallback for core services that the app is built on.

relics443 commented on So Your Startup Received the Nightmare GDPR Letter jacquesmattheij.com/so-yo... · Posted by u/janvdberg

jacquesm · 8 years ago

If you're not legitimately concerned then you are actually devaluing the GDPR by abusing it. If you have a legitimate concern with a particular company I'd send them a custom letter rather than a form letter and I'd try to work with them in order to achieve the desired effect (for instance: for them to delete my data once and for all) rather than to get a bunch of information that I have no further use for.

relics443 · 8 years ago

Don't worry. The GDPR does a bang up job of devaluing itself.

relics443 commented on So Your Startup Received the Nightmare GDPR Letter jacquesmattheij.com/so-yo... · Posted by u/janvdberg

Gravityloss · 8 years ago

So you consider it a big burden to a startup, to do business according to the GDPR? I'm no expert on the matter.

relics443 · 8 years ago

Yes. Besides for the administration costs incurred (which is probably the real killer), the list of death points are:

1. Adding a dialog as the first step in an onboarding funnel that's already difficult to get users through

2. Handling non-consent. WTF! So if the user doesn't give consent to something that 99% of the population doesn't understand, I'm not allowed to prevent them from using the app. And so my engineering team needs to waste critical hours figuring out things like how to deal with crashes, or maybe how in the fuck we're supposed to fallback to not using services that we're built on (e.g. Firebase)!

3. Dealing with the fallout of #1 in the form of bad reviews that are the kiss of death to startups

relics443 commented on So Your Startup Received the Nightmare GDPR Letter jacquesmattheij.com/so-yo... · Posted by u/janvdberg

kerkeslager · 8 years ago

> But reading stuff like this makes me that much more inclined to use that Cloudflare option of IP blocking the whole continent.

Excellent. Then maybe some competitors will arise with products that are built with privacy in mind from the ground up.

relics443 · 8 years ago

Unfortunately those competitors will crash and burn when their users get pissed off at the opening dialog.

relics443 commented on So Your Startup Received the Nightmare GDPR Letter jacquesmattheij.com/so-yo... · Posted by u/janvdberg

Tomte · 8 years ago

There is a lot stopping them, namely the law itself and the courts.

But that is irrelevant in this thread.

There is no lower floor. That was a lie!

The authorities can easily fine someone a thousand Euros or a million Euros.

relics443 · 8 years ago

Oh the law. Good one.

The same law that fined me $1,800 because a posted notice fell off my door in a blizzard? The same law that allowed the judge to uphold the fine by saying "I don't believe you". Bureaucracy sucks, and the second it gets its tentacles on you, no amount of cheek clenching is gonna delay the inevitable.

relics443 commented on So Your Startup Received the Nightmare GDPR Letter jacquesmattheij.com/so-yo... · Posted by u/janvdberg

specializeded · 8 years ago

Cant see a reason not to honestly, especially if it’s valid. Swings and roundabouts innit

relics443 · 8 years ago

I think you mean "can't see a reason not to honestly, ONLY if it's valid". And even that's morally ambiguous.