logoalt Hacker News

mindslightlast Tuesday at 2:46 PM0 repliesview on HN

I'll admit my examples were pretty weak.

What I see is this bill, while a fantastic development, is still just addressing the tip of an iceberg on an industry that has been festering for many decades now (I mean, the "Fair" Credit Reporting Act - aka regulatory capture by the early digital surveillance industry - was passed in 1970). So "pushback" doesn't necessarily mean this law being undone, but rather it ending up as the full amount of privacy we can expect rather than first step of a hopeful trend.

For example look at how many more rights the GDPR grants. If a GDPR-analog were on the table in the US, the entire surveillance industry would balk. And these days the surveillance industry is basically the bulk of our "economy" (ie stock market valuations). And given the way "our" government works, I wouldn't be terribly hopeful about the individual liberty side prevailing over entrenched interests. Which is why I'm making an argument for more of a gradual shift.

Now having said that, perhaps it makes more sense for each bit of legislation to bite off fewer rights (as I'd say this legislation does), while including a private right of action so that the rights it does grant are maximally enforced. Having glaring violations of the law-as-written just sit there unaddressed is certainly its own powerful momentum-killer.