back to article Bone up on fresh EU privacy law - or end up in the clink, IT biz warned

Technology resellers, distributors and service providers need to be ready for the freshly proposed European Data Protection law, IDC has said. The analyst's research director of European security software Kevin Bailey said that end users were already preparing for the new rules of the incoming regulation, but the technology …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Pint

    It's going to be awesome, yeah sure....

    When governments start regulating stuff they hardly understand you'll get regulations which the involved sector will hardly understand. And that often results in major annoyances (or worse) for the group which rights those regulations should protect in the first place.

    Take a look at the "cookie law"; it's a perfect example. Basically the law states that websites need to warn visitors before they come into contact with tracking cookies ("trackers"). But this regulation does not include cookies which you might need to keep your website running as optimal as possible.

    Despite of that most companies basically approached the whole thing with "better to be safe than sorry" and made it involve every cookie on their website. And can you blame them? Because one could argue that every cookie can be used to track people; at the very least you can pick up from which domain they originated (or said to originate).

    And as a result we now get to click 'yes' on almost every website. And to make sure they don't track you it's often stored in a cookie with a short expiration date so you can keep clicking yes, which has quickly became user annoyance number 1.

    So when that researcher says that: "end users were already preparing for the new rules of the incoming regulation" I think he drew the wrong conclusions. End users aren't getting ready to sue the heck out of the market, I think they're getting ready to browse the web without getting annoying "cookie banners" on every site they visit.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: It's going to be awesome, yeah sure....

      The web site has been optimised.

      The code is optimal.

      Therefore the web site would be said to be running optimally.

  2. Spoonsinger

    Re :- BONE UP ON FRESH EU PRIVACY LAW

    Might of been nice if the article actual pointed out what aspect might need to be boned up on. (Other than the obvious all of it - which is bound to be legal gibberish).

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Re :- BONE UP ON FRESH EU PRIVACY LAW

      My thoughts exactly.

      1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
        Devil

        Colonel Klinked, LOL!

        What aspects? All of them.

        And really, it is better to have a lawyer on call and do appropriate risk management because as far as I can see, laws WILL be broken especially regarding the cloudy operations. Relying on "opinions" of the repurposed boxshifter is not going to be advisable.

        "They have to understand it because in the SMB space, the people there want to focus on their business not on other issues like this."

        Even in the SMB stuff, it now becomes their business, so they have to focus on issues like this.

      2. Dave 15
        FAIL

        Re: Re :- BONE UP ON FRESH EU PRIVACY LAW

        Yup, such an empty and airheaded piece it could have been written by any of the blond BBC reporters... what a c*** article, nothing of substance at all.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @ "Spoonsinger"

      It might have been nice if you could actually write a sentence properly.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "The days are gone of moving boxes, it's about having an opinion you take to your customer and through that offering a service."

    ...which will cost more for the customers who are only looking to purchase kit. Nothing is free, including advice.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Nothing is free, including advice.

      "Nothing is free, including advice."

      Every professionally staffed shop/office in the world should have that written above the front door. Not to be rude. Just to remind some of the more self-centred tight-arses that they will need to pay.

  4. Gazman
    Thumb Down

    As wrong as it gets

    Suppliers should be running a mile from giving or purporting to give anything remotely connected to legal advice - risks of negligent misstatement, holding out as giving legal advice, etc.

    Surely the idea would be to ensure client understands that client is solely responsible for obtaining independent legal advice that what it is doing/planning to do complies with data protection law, etc., etc.?

    I am not a lawyer and this is not (and is not offered or provided) as legal advice: seek independent third party legal advice on any issue raised here...

  5. Anonymous Coward
    IT Angle

    Businesses don't understand the European Data Protection law?

    "Protecting your personal data - a fundamental right!

    Sounds Good !!

    "The free flow of personal data - a common good!"

    Ah, sounds not so good.

    "The EU's Data Protection Directive also foresees specific rules for the transfer of personal data outside the EU to ensure the best possible protection of your data when it is exported abroad".

    Yea, sounds totally secure to me ..

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