This is a false dichotomy that I fully reject. I feel disgust for the current generation of creepy, centralized, ad-ridden websites that make a pittance on each of us and use our data to create the next generation of (proprietary) AI.
I also don't think the _solution_ to that problem is to create a new bureaucracy and complex set of rules ("you won't be targeted, trust us!") that seems to address a "problem" (if it even is so) that is a large superset of ad-driven tech. Overcharged bureaucracy goes against the hacker spirit.
By the way, a way out of this mess seems to include crypto. We know right now that most ICOs are scams, crypto has lots of technical issues, and is in general still not ready for "prime time." That being said, when it _is_ ready for prime time, it's hard to even imagine how a crypto network could even comply with any of the basic ideas of GDPR, despite the fact that privacy is not really a concern.
How would you implement a "right to be forgotten" on a blockchain ledger? It may not even matter that the EU itself would not interfere, as GDPR also apparently creates private rights of action. Any sufficiently loony EU citizen can drag foreigners to court with gigantic lawsuits.
My understanding of "blockchain ledgers" is that it's not the case that every single byte of a ledger entry is present in the blockchain, but that some other ledger is maintained and its digest (at various points along the way) is incorporated into the blockchain.
That being the case, "the network" doesn't own these 'side ledgers.' They have owners who may well keep non-public data. Further, that the data comprising a particular digest needn't be disclosed, only that the owner of the digest vouches for the digest. For forgettable mode, said owner validates their own data, generates the digest, adds it to the blockchain, and subsequently 'forgets' the data that created the digest.
Now maybe that flies in the face of a fully public blockchain, but it allows the implementation of that which you couldn't fathom: a right to be forgotten alongside blockchain technology.
I also don't think the _solution_ to that problem is to create a new bureaucracy and complex set of rules ("you won't be targeted, trust us!") that seems to address a "problem" (if it even is so) that is a large superset of ad-driven tech. Overcharged bureaucracy goes against the hacker spirit.
By the way, a way out of this mess seems to include crypto. We know right now that most ICOs are scams, crypto has lots of technical issues, and is in general still not ready for "prime time." That being said, when it _is_ ready for prime time, it's hard to even imagine how a crypto network could even comply with any of the basic ideas of GDPR, despite the fact that privacy is not really a concern.
How would you implement a "right to be forgotten" on a blockchain ledger? It may not even matter that the EU itself would not interfere, as GDPR also apparently creates private rights of action. Any sufficiently loony EU citizen can drag foreigners to court with gigantic lawsuits.