Four years after GDPR was implemented, we are seeing the pillars
of the internet business destroyed. Given two new EU decisions
affecting the practical management of data, all companies
collecting consumer data in the EU are re-evaluating their business
models and will soon be considering wholesale changes.
On one hand, the GDPR is creating the world its drafters
intended – a world where personal data is less of a commodity
exploited and traded by business. On the other hand, GDPR
enforcement has taken the form of a wrecking ball, leading to data
localization in Europe and substitution of government meddling for
consumer choice.
For years we have watched the EU courts and enforcement agencies
apply GDPR text to real-life cases, wondering if the legal
application would be more of a nip and tuck operation on ecommerce
or something more bloody and brutal. In 2022, we received our
answer, and the bodies are dropping.
