Do we need a global framework for data privacy?

First it was Europe’s GDPR, then came CCPA. And now, Gartner projects a lot more privacy regulations by 2023.

As someone who has had to work on compliance with these very poorly conceived laws, the prospect of a lot more of them is scary.

I’m in favor of the general goals of GDPR and CCPA, but the people who wrote those laws didn’t understand how things work, so companies are left scratching their heads, wondering what to do.

On the one hand, I tend to dislike globalist visions, but in something like this — that directly affects global commerce — it would be very nice if some competent people put together a workable framework that (1) protects consumers, (2) gives them the power to determine how their data is used, and (3) is possible for companies to comply with without too much expense.

Mexico or Canada?

I’m weary of the “if Trump wins the election I’m leaving the country” crowd, mostly because they’re usually people I’d love to see leave and they never do, but also because it’s just “virtue” signaling.

But seriously, I’m concerned what’s going to happen to this country in the next few years, no matter who wins. I don’t see any good outcomes.

If Trump wins again, the riots and unrest will get even worse. The leftist revolutionaries behind the riots are not going to say, “Oh, well, we lost” and give up. They’re going to try to burn everything down. They have a quasi pagan (and very stupid) idea that order spontaneously springs from chaos.

If Biden wins, our slide into a world controlled by intolerant woke extremists will get even worse.

Some commentators are saying we’re headed for civil war. I’m not sure how that would play out, but it would be ugly.

Conservatives sat idly by while ridiculous nonsense took root in the universities, and from there it has infected our entire culture. At this point, I think the only thing that can stop it is a religious revival. But there are very few religious leaders who are worth much. (On the other hand, it’s not that Luther was so great. He was just the match that lit the straw.)

If things go badly, it might be time to flee. But … where? Canada is more woke than here. Friends say there are parts of Mexico that are very nice.

The danger of the tipping point

I’ve been listening to some interviews with Douglas Murray recently. He’s very good.

In this video, there’s an interesting interchange about tipping points.

It’s as if generally conservative people looked at the madness around them — in schools, universities, government, private industry, entertainment, social media, etc. — and thought, “it can’t go on much longer. People will realize how stupid this is and they’ll back off.”

And then they don’t back off, and things get worse, and the conservatives think, “Oh, but this will be the tipping point. People won’t accept that.”

“This one will be the tipping point” is wishful thinking.

How do you censor the guy who’s lining your pocket?

If it hasn’t been obvious until now — and it has — it should be obvious to everyone that social media has too much power. They are not neutral platforms, as the law currently defines them. They clearly have an agenda, and should be treated that way.

It’s perfectly fine for them to have an agenda, but they can’t have an agenda and at the same time get an exemption for being a neutral platform. But that’s the current situation.

Why? Because they contribute tons of money to the candidates.

This is a major problem with our system. How can you believe that a politician will vote honestly on an issue when he knows that voting one way makes him rich, while voting the other way makes him lose his job?