Heightened debate in US as EU privacy rules take effect
Heightened debate in US as EU privacy rules take effect
By Rob Lever AFP • May 25, 2018
Washington (AFP) - Amid a global scramble to comply with
new EU data protections laws, the debate on privacy has intensified in the
United States with some calling for similar measures for Americans, and others
warning the rules could fracture the global internet.
US tech firms, and virtually all companies with online
operations, will need to comply with the rules if their sites are used in the
European Union, or face hefty financial penalties.
Some American firms, including news sites like the Los
Angeles Times and New York Daily News, blocked access in the EU because they
were unable to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation, which took
effect Friday.
Other US websites have shut down entirely, and some have
hired consultants to help shut off access for any users in Europe.
Large US tech firms have pledged compliance with the EU
rules, and have in many cases promised to extend the same protections
worldwide.
But legal challenges filed in Europe accused Google and
Facebook of failing to abide by the new law.
- Why not in US? -
Some US activists argue that the implementation offers an
opportunity to give more privacy and data protection benefits to Americans.
"We see no reason why US companies, as they strive
to comply with the new European policies, cannot extend the GDPR standard to
American consumers," said Katharina Kopp of the Center for Digital
Democracy, one of 28 activist groups endorsing a letter in that vein to major
US and global companies.
Senator Ed Markey and three fellow lawmakers introduced a
resolution this week that would call on firms to offer the same protections of
the European law in the US.
"The American people are going to wonder why they
are getting second-class privacy protections," said Markey.
The law establishes the key principle that individuals
must explicitly grant permission for their data to be used, and give consumers
a right to know who is accessing their information and what it will be used
for.
Companies can be fined up to 20 million euros ($24
million) or four percent of annual global turnover for violations.
- Cumbersome, confusing -
GDPR critics argue the law is confusing and cumbersome,
and could lead to unintended effects on both sides of the Atlantic.
Daniel Castro of the Information Technology and
Innovation Foundation, a Washington think tank, called GDPR "a confusing
and impractical set of rules" that offers consumers little benefit.
"Instead of hiring engineers, companies are hiring
privacy lawyers," Castro said in a blog post with researcher Alan McQuinn.
Ryan Radia of the Competitive Enterprise Institute said
that although GDPR was aimed at Big Tech, it is likely to strengthen the grip
of large internet firms.
"This will result in greater market concentration,
as small firms and startups will find it difficult to comply with the increased
regulatory cost burden," Radia said.
Amy Webb, a fellow at Harvard's Nieman Foundation and
founder of the Future Today Institute, warned the new law could lead to a
"splinternet" with different kinds of data available in various
regions of the world, and could be particularly cumbersome for news
organizations.
"It's plausible within a decade, we could find
ourselves stuck in a new digital divide, where many disparate splinternets
behave and function differently, depending on where in the world the net is
being accessed," she said in a blog post this week.
Webb said news organizations could find it especially
difficult to comply because of the need for consent in organizing feeds and
promoting content.
"The business model for news, already tenuous, could
be further weakened," she said.
Henry Farrell, a George Washington University professor
who follows transatlantic relations, said the entire business model of the tech
sector could be at risk from GDPR.
"This is a fundamental attack on the 'two sided
market' profit model that e-commerce companies have pioneered of providing
services to individuals, while watching their behavior and feeding up access or
data to advertisers," Farrell said in a tweet Friday.
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