Quote:
Originally Posted by Sarmat89
Is there a reason you want to harvest people's IPs and e-mail addresses against their will?
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You really should be more careful with making assumptions.
I have no official position at Mobileread. I am a member only. I use the words "we" and "us" simply because I feel I have a stake in the forum operating and wish to help out if I can. I'm not sure exactly what information Mobileread collects. However, you may recall that when you signed up you were asked to provide an email address and some other details, which I presume you did willingly. As far as I'm aware limited information is simply collected and stored for purposes of the operation of the forums. I have certainly never received marketing emails or other spam as a result of my Mobileread membership, so my information does not appear to have been sold.
Most sites you visit will log the ip address you are apparently visiting the site from, for valid reasons. IP addresses do not usually identify a person. They may identify the owner of a particular account with an ISP, but only if you are able to legally compel the ISP to hand over the information. They do not establish which particular person accessed the site.
Like many Government initiatives the EU has sought to address a very real problem with a ridiculously over-reaching piece of legislation, complete with vague drafting to encourage uncertainties and give it the widest possible reach. They are obviously taking the view that even the smallest online forum which requires registration is caught, and must bear the compliance costs. If they could actually enforce this outside the EU I suspect many forums would close.