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Google users in post-Brexit UK to lose GDPR privacy protections

FernandoRocker

FernandoRocker

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,987
México
Just when you think the post-Brexit situation can't get any worse for us poor sods in the UK, another depressing tidbit rears its ugly head. This time, it's news that Google users in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland will no longer be protected by GDPR and will instead be at the mercy of the privacy regulations of the United States.

According to Reuters, multiple sources familiar with Google's plans said that Brits will be asked to accept new terms of service as their accounts are transferred to US jurisdiction. The move comes amid confusion over whether the UK will still follow GDPR now that it's left the EU, with US regulation the preferred solution in the short term rather than setting up a British subsidiary.

Since US data privacy laws are far less strict than those governed by GDPR in Europe, the UK authorities will now have easier access to the Google data of its citizens. Sure enough, I've already received an email from Google that reads as follows:
We're improving our Terms of Service and making them easier for you to understand. The changes will take effect on 31 March 2020, and they won't impact the way that you use Google services. And, because the United Kingdom (UK) is leaving the European Union (EU), Google LLC will now be the service provider and the data controller responsible for your information and for complying with applicable privacy laws for UK consumer users.
For more details, we've provided a summary of the key changes and Frequently asked questions. And the next time that you visit Google, you'll have the chance to review and accept the new Terms.
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So as of March 31, Google's US business will be in charge of the data of UK users rather than the Ireland-based European HQ, thus rendering local privacy laws applicable. This will be a blow to advocacy groups and sets a worrying precedent with other US companies likely to follow suit. Google and others collect a monumental amount of data from UK consumers, and the protection we've become accustomed to is about to be seriously diminished.
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www.androidpolice.com

Google users in post-Brexit UK to lose GDPR privacy protections

Just when you think the post-Brexit situation can't get any worse for us poor sods in the UK, another depressing tidbit rears its ugly head. This time,
www.androidpolice.com www.androidpolice.com
 
ps3ud0

ps3ud0

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,906
Fucking Brexit fucks...

It's just gonna get frog in boiling water worse over the next couple of years. I can't think of much worse than following US rights/services...

ps3ud0 8)
 
WedgeX

WedgeX

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,276
Does "far less strict" feel appropriate to describe US data protections? I feel we have none at all aside from scientific research.
 
Lagamorph

Lagamorph

Wrong About Chicken
Member
Oct 26, 2017
7,355
No way the Tories copy GDPR. They want that data on people more than any business.

If anything they'll make it so UK data has to be stored in the UK but the government are the only ones with access and rights to sell it.
 
Xando

Xando

Member
Oct 28, 2017
27,562
Lagamorph said:
Does raise an interesting point though.

I honestly wouldn't put it past the tories to be incompetent enough to just forget to repeal it, but companies like Google just assume they have.
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Google, facebook and friends hate GDPR so they will lobby hard against it and tories aren't exactly known to be harsh on business.
 
DavidDesu

DavidDesu

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
5,718
Glasgow, Scotland
Can't wait to lose mobile phone roaming. We had it so good thanks to the EU, and only the EU, enforcing consumer oriented laws and practices. Hope the fuckers who go to Spain all the time (I have been many times also) are happy when they get their £200 phone bill after they send three texts while on holiday.
 
gamma

gamma

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
357
How exactly can Google do this? I thought the UK will still follow all EU laws till the end of year.
 
Freestyler

Freestyler

Member
Oct 27, 2017
343
Fantastic news. Hopefully this means I stop seeing those fucking "We use cookies…" pop-ups/banners on every site I visit (as someone on the literal opposite side of the Earth from the EU).
 
IDreamOfHime

IDreamOfHime

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,529
Well that's a pile of shite, but at the same time the people who voted, i.e fucking old people, probably don't know what GDPR is, they just know that Patel told them yesterday that the thousands of greedy foreigners stealing british strawberry picking jobs will be kicked out next year.
 
Lagamorph

Lagamorph

Wrong About Chicken
Member
Oct 26, 2017
7,355
Xando said:
Google, facebook and friends hate GDPR so they will lobby hard against it and tories aren't exactly known to be harsh on business.
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They're being pretty fucking harsh on business when it comes to Brexit.

I mean Boris literally said "Fuck Business" about Brexit when he was Foreign Secretary.
 
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