Jost MigendaApr 20, 2024

@nicholasmodesto @washchuk @daringfireball That’s common in antitrust law, though: If companies have such a dominant market position that it’s almost impossible to switch to a competitor, they have to obey stricter rules.

(Again, personally, I’d love it if those restrictions on invasive tracking applied to everyone. But I can see the reasoning behind having stricter rules for the most dominant companies.)

Show threadJost MigendaApr 20, 2024

@nicholasmodesto @washchuk @daringfireball To put it differently:

With smaller companies, I can usually switch to a competitor if I don’t like their ad tracking policy, so it’s“Pay or Okay or Walk Away”. If you assume that free markets work (which the EU tends to do, for better or worse), that’s fine.

With FB, I don’t realistically have the option to Walk Away. So this cannot be solved by leaving it to the market, and government regulation is necessary.

Show threadMatt WashchukApr 20, 2024
@JostMigenda @nicholasmodesto @daringfireball The problem here is there is no real principle guiding the EDPB: they say it’s protect consumers from compelled consent, but only from Facebook’s compelled consent. Every company in the EU is welcome to compel consent. This rule is surgically tailored for Facebook (and a handful of other companies) and seems spiteful. I’d love to end targeted advertising. Make a regulation that does that. This regulation isn’t about targeted advertising in general.
Show threadTom RossApr 20, 2024

@washchuk They target all large platforms. Meta (unwittingly) helped Cambridge Analytica manipulate the 2016 US election and Brexit vote. They had to pay a $5 billion fine to the US government. That fine wasn’t out of spite, correct?

So there’s reason to be concerned, and it’s better to set the rules in advance than having to clean up after. The EU rule is: If you have 45+ million users here, you must do better. The DMA is far from perfect, but it’s not hitting the wrong target.

Show threadMatt WashchukApr 20, 2024
@tomrossberlin This isn't a DMA issue. It's a GDPR issue. And there's no reason that I, as a user, should have to consent to targeted advertising when I read Le Monde but not when I visit Facebook. While I'm not a citizen of the EU, I just don't understand why these regulations are really targeted at corporate profits and not benefits/protections for citizens. If you don't want to make me pick between paying Meta for no advertising or accepting targeting advertising, do it for all companies.
Show threadTom RossApr 21, 2024

@washchuk From what I understand, this decision was made by by combining GDPR and DMA. That makes it a DMA issue as well, and couldn’t apply to Le Monde.

The rest of your argument in my perception is a rationalization of supporting your home team (I assume you’re American). I think it’s both common and fair to put stricter rules on bigger entities.

And just to be clear, I’d give the DMA a solid 6/10. I’m not blindly defending it. But show me better Big Tech legislation—after you’ve passed it.

Show threadTom Ross
@washchuk Some additional aspects:
- This represents the view of an independent panel, not the EU commission. Remains to be seen how it pans out.
- The panel members are elected by their national legislations, but are also independent from them. They are indeed among the most pro-privacy voices.
- The national level is responsible for controlling Le Monde-sized companies, not the EU.
- GDPR is still making its way through the courts. Le Monde may or may not lose their Pay-Or-Okay wall one day.
Apr 21, 2024 at 7:36amIvory for iOS
Show threadMatt WashchukApr 21, 2024
@tomrossberlin I don’t feel like I’m being a homer here. I have zero interest in supporting Facebook. I’m all for privacy. If the commission wants to announce that EU citizens have the right not be tracked with targeted advertising without their consent, that’s a huge win for privacy. But they’re not doing that. If I don’t want to read Le Monde because they track me, my choices are to pick another news site that tracks me. They all do it because they need the money. GDPR is ok with this.