Companies such as Facebook and Apple use Ireland as a tax shelter, with great benefits for them. As billion of dollars in lawsuits could result from GDPR, will Ireland still be able to attract big companies, or keep the ones that have elected to relocate there? What will be the impact on jobs? Was GDPR primarily designed to penalize Ireland?

Also, we have seen recently large publishers (for instance, the Los Angeles Time) decide to block access to all European visitors. Will this get worse, or better? Will EU win (in the sense of getting a positive ROI thanks to the lawsuits) or lose that fight against foreign companies? Will this regulation make big businesses stronger than ever and kill small businesses (at least those relying on EU business) despite the claim that GDPR is supposed to produce the opposite effect? Will bureaucracy win against innovation? Is EU killing itself with bureaucracy?

Here is my take on this, as a publisher:

People who do not want their data being stored, essentially people who bring no revenue to publishers, should not be allowed to access the websites in question, so definitely, no data about them should be tracked, and likewise, no access to content be provided to them. They think publishers (and I include Facebook and Google in the list of publishers) work for free and should give them access to content for free with no string attached. Indeed refusing these visitors is a way to save bandwidth and to provide better, more relevant CTR / leads to advertisers. If you own a restaurant, would you accept clients that stay for hours, feel entitled, and only order tap water and don't tip? It is the same thing.

Worse, not tracking IP addresses and monitoring activity at the individual level, goes against any security protocol used to detect, report, and block illegal activity. In short, it allows pedophiles and terrorists to access the web anonymously, with the protection of the EU government, and even sue any entity that monitor them.

Finally, why would you want to visit websites that keep data on visitors, if you don't like it? There are plenty of websites that don't. If you want to get a book, but don't like the fact that you have to pay for it, you don't buy it. I don't see how this is different, as long as website access is provided only to visitors who agree with the terms of service (and thus, compliant with the regulations.)

Feel free to share your opinion.

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