The reason the GDPR failed and was more an annoyance than a solution is because of its lack of enforcement and the total incompetence of the ICO.
All the annoyances that seem caused by the GDPR such as the annoying and misleading consent popups are explicitly forbidden by the GDPR and do not count as compliance.
If the ICO was doing their job and was using the powers the regulation is granting it (such as the fines everyone was fear-mongering about) it would've quickly forced those websites to comply and stop the annoyances.
The reason the GDPR failed and was more an annoyance than a solution is because of its lack of enforcement and the total incompetence of the ICO.
I don't think it is clear that GDPR has failed. Companies actually think about data privacy now, to a much greater extent than they previously have. For example shady practices by the likes of google and facebook have come under the spotlight and companies do face significant GDPR fines when they mess up e.g. this 890 million euro whopper for amazon [1].
The GDPR most certainly has not failed, in fact it is gathering steam. Compliance is increasing, more and more consumers are becoming aware that this law is working to their benefit, and fines are getting more substantial against those companies that have unilaterally decided the GDPR does not apply to them.
Of all the legislation that has come out of Brussels I would count it up next to the successes, similar to the roaming charge law and the one about phone chargers.
Gathering steam is right - people often underestimate the power of nation states (and blocs of nation states) because they can take a while to react. But it's like steering a supertanker - slow to turn, but once they're finally going in the intended direction they're impossible to ignore.
I can count multiple times where GDPR has improved my life as a customer and even as an employee. GDPR was a landmark success in my opinion, especially after the failure that was the cookie law.
I don't think GDPR has failed. In fact, there have bern multiple times where I have been happy that it exists, since I knew that companies were limited in their ability to save data about me.
Comments
The reason the GDPR failed and was more an annoyance than a solution is because of its lack of enforcement and the total incompetence of the ICO.
All the annoyances that seem caused by the GDPR such as the annoying and misleading consent popups are explicitly forbidden by the GDPR and do not count as compliance.
If the ICO was doing their job and was using the powers the regulation is granting it (such as the fines everyone was fear-mongering about) it would've quickly forced those websites to comply and stop the annoyances.
I don't think it is clear that GDPR has failed. Companies actually think about data privacy now, to a much greater extent than they previously have. For example shady practices by the likes of google and facebook have come under the spotlight and companies do face significant GDPR fines when they mess up e.g. this 890 million euro whopper for amazon [1].
[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-30/amazon-gi...
The GDPR most certainly has not failed, in fact it is gathering steam. Compliance is increasing, more and more consumers are becoming aware that this law is working to their benefit, and fines are getting more substantial against those companies that have unilaterally decided the GDPR does not apply to them.
Of all the legislation that has come out of Brussels I would count it up next to the successes, similar to the roaming charge law and the one about phone chargers.
Gathering steam is right - people often underestimate the power of nation states (and blocs of nation states) because they can take a while to react. But it's like steering a supertanker - slow to turn, but once they're finally going in the intended direction they're impossible to ignore.
I can count multiple times where GDPR has improved my life as a customer and even as an employee. GDPR was a landmark success in my opinion, especially after the failure that was the cookie law.
I don't think GDPR has failed. In fact, there have bern multiple times where I have been happy that it exists, since I knew that companies were limited in their ability to save data about me.
If the ICO had appropriate funding I think you'd find they were be able to do a much better job.
The consent pop-ups aren't solely due to GDPR, and GDPR is about much more than tracking in that sense.