
PrivacyGuide: Towards an Implementation of EU GDPR on Privacy Policy Evaluation - denzil_correa
https://blog.acolyer.org/2018/04/16/privacyguide-towards-an-implementation-of-the-eu-gdpr-on-internet-privacy-policy-evaluation/
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dheera
Honest question: I see a lot of companies complying with the GDPR.

Why aren't there companies simply pulling out of the EU instead? For internet-
based companies, they can still continue to serve EU customers while keeping
all servers in the US. Unlike China, most EU countries aren't going to engage
in internet censorship if companies just back out of the EU.

Credit cards also generally inter-operate between US and EU, so it's even
possible to accept payments from the EU without setting foot there or
otherwise physically entering EU jurisdiction.

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ionised
> For internet-based companies, they can still continue to serve EU customers
> while keeping all servers in the US.

That's not the case though. If they are serving EU residents, they have to
abide.

~~~
singron
I think the question being asked is why dont they just break EU law if they
dont have a physical presence there (i.e. their assets can't be siezed, and
they can't be arrested).

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Sylos
Because their country of residence only has a limited interest in protecting
them at the cost of the country's relationship with the EU. Especially if the
EU ruling is credible.

Also, the EU might block them from the market completely.

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dheera
How would the EU block them?

In a hypothetical scenario where, say, Google pulls out, would EU dare block
google.com? Given Google's revenue model is largely based on ad impressions,
as long as they don't set up a firewall, Google gets all the business they
need.

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Sylos
Those ad impressions only happen when the ads are loaded from Google's server.
If routing to all Google servers gets blocked, those ads won't load anymore
either.

Then webpage owners won't make money anymore off of having Google ads, so
they'd replace them with different ads and you'd have the most flourishing ad
industry in the EU within a few months.

But even just blocking access to google.com/.fr/.de/etc. would hurt Google
quite a bit. Companies pay a lot of money to bend the truth and have
themselves appear as the top result. As far as I'm aware, that still is the
main source of income for Google.

Would they dare it? If pulling out means that Google disregards, therefore
breaks EU law, I do think so. That would be entirely in the hands of the
jurisdiction, which is relatively strong here. Which is to say, they generally
don't need to give too much of a fuck about the effects of their doing. They
just look at the laws, look at the facts and then make rulings out of those.

