Quote:
Originally Posted by BetterRed
@darryl - the Mobileread site is hosted at Hetzner Online GmbH in Germany, which would be within the reach of EU courts.
BR
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Thanks. I suppose if worst came to worst we could seek a host outside the EU. The problem is of course the uncertainty. Sites like Mobileread do not have the budget to get the legal advice which is likely required. To comply also requires money to develop the various policies and forms. I suppose it would be possible to approach the EU authorities for their guidance, but this also could be a two-edged sword. If they were to say we had to comply, could we afford to? Maybe there are cheap or free policies and forms floating around somewhere. And if we didn't and they decided they wanted a test case who had deliberately not complied? We'd probably simply not participate and they would impose a fine or some other punishment they could not enforce.
I suspect the rules are not aimed at forums such as Mobileread and I doubt that the EU authorities intend to try to enforce them in these cases. It may be that the only practical alternative is to take the view that these rules are not intended to apply to us. Since we don't actually make much use of the information many of the rules are of little concern anyway. Perhaps it would be prudent to seek to comply to the extent that it can easily be done and take steps to avoid complaints. For instance, perhaps we can find a way to accommodate those requesting to delete accounts like the request in this thread. Even if we are not fully complying the lack of any complaint makes any action even more unlikely. I see little prospect of the EU being able to force co-operation in any audit or force the provision of information about compliance or otherwise.
I'm not sure about the legal structure of Mobileread, but would imagine the problem is probably Alex's. The worst think that could probably happen in that case is we need a new host and Alex needs to be careful about visiting the EU or having assets there. (I presume he doesn't live there)?