Thread · 5 tweets · 5 Nov 2020

It will be interesting to see if the courts can stop regulatory capture. Those who work their best to abide by privacy legislation are facing competition from companies that don’t, as regulators mostly watch it unfold, unconcerned. This creates unfair markets.

No one wants to speak up for fear of regulatory retaliation, but several of the major data authorities are, through sheer inaction, turning the GDPR into a bit of a joke.

This inaction is particularly salient when it comes to big tech monopolies. Does anyone seriously believe there’s nothing blantantly unlawful there? The adtech world is in the middle of sweeping reform. The time to shape the coming decades of digital advertising is *now*.

What’s the biggest impediment to adtech heading in a consumer-friendly direction at this juncture? EU regulators let big tech do whatever it wants, so adtech companies have to compete in a race to the bottom with personal data. And they face no cost for ignoring the GDPR, so…

This is fixable. There are excellent people inside data authorities, people not looking for revolving doors — but they need to be empowered to act. I raise my coffee to @OpenRightsGroup trying to unlock this situation!