Friday, April 13, 2018

How Can That Be?


I recently heard Richard Blumenthal being interviewed on Morning Edition.  The subject was the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica “scandal” (which I put in quotation marks because no one should be surprised about what happened).  Steve Inskeep asked the Senator if the Senate was considering any comprehensive digital privacy regulation.  Blumenthal touted his own proposed measures, and then commented that “Europe is ahead of us on protecting privacy.  How can that be?”

How can that be?

Well, Senator, here’s how: we are not the only first-world country on this planet.  The horror!  It’s true.  We would probably all do well to at least consider the possibility that other countries and governments just might be able to do one or two things better than we do.

Upon realizing that, let us act like successful businessmen for a moment.  Instead of “deny, deny, deny,” we might try to spend a little time figuring out what they’re doing better than we are, and then stealing that idea and putting it to work for us.  We will all be a little bit improved if we do that.

That is all.  Good day, Senator.

2 comments:

  1. Also, Europe generally operates under the precautionary principle, which would never fly in the anti-regulation USA.

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  2. USA frequently makes upside-down/backwards choices on what to regulate and how. Perhaps Europe's long history has given its lawmakers better perspective on the future than the tinkering egos (boys with toys) who run ours?

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