6 months on, it is clear GDPR has played right into the hands of Google, Facebook and Amazon.

Six months on from the introduction of the controversial European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), it seems the results have been exactly as many predicted: the Googles and Facebooks of the world have benefitted at the expense of smaller firms, regulators are facing an administrative nightmare, and the web has become more cumbersome to use.

GDPR has played right into the hands of the internet giants

New research from the US National Bureau of Economic Research suggests that funding in EU-based new and emerging tech firms has taken a hit, and that European regulators have been swamped with a deluge of complaints that they simply don’t have the resources to handle.

Supporting the NBER findings are statistics, reported by Politico.eu, from data provider Dealroom, that show the average funding per EU tech start-up was down $3.4m across most EU countries, a whopping 40% drop compared to pre-GDPR days.

Meanwhile web behemoths like Amazon, Facebook and Google – who have been able to hire armies of lawyers and technical experts to ensure GDPR compliance (it has been reported that the biggest multi-national corporations earmarked a staggering $6.8 billion for GDPR compliance in the run up to the May implementation date) – have all seen their share of online advertising increase, at the expense of smaller companies.

The research states that European national data protection authorities have been buried under an avalanche of more than 57,000 complaints and over 27,000 organisations have reported data breaches within the GDPR stipulated 72-hour time limit – all in the first 6 months!

Quite obviously privacy and data protection is important in today’s online world, but it could be argued that, by going down the GDPR route, the European Union is actually creating a situation in which individuals, businesses and even governments, will be more beholden to the all-powerful web giants than ever before.

They want to have their cake and eat it

Despite much sensationalised mainstream press coverage regarding data privacy, illustrated by the ridiculously overblown Cambridge Analytica ‘scandal’, it has become clear over the past 6 months that the majority of consumers across Europe still don’t really understand GDPR and the technical realities of data usage and privacy.

Of course, this alarmism and murky misinformation has also been actively encouraged by those trying to earn money by selling GDPR compliance services – which is no small industry!

Before Europe misguidedly enshrines into law more well-intentioned but ultimately damaging legislation in the form of the EU Copyright Directive (read all about that here), is it not time that politicians and campaigners were honest with the population?

Unfortunately, today, it seems like many people across the developed world have the attitude that they can have their cake and eat it (Brexit, anyone?). Some would argue its an overblown sense of entitlement – something that is often leveled against the Millennial ‘snowflakes’, but that is just as often seen in Baby Boomers – others would no doubt put it down to simple ignorance and a failed education system.

Whatever the roots causes, and there are likely many, the point is that we have to be honest. If we don’t want to live in a world where a handful of giant mega corporations control our lives and own pretty much everything, we have to quit passing these kind of resource heavy regulations.

Politicians need to stop pandering to misguided pressure groups, and consumers need to grow up and realise that if they want free this and free that, if they want the convenience of apps that can provide everything they want before they even realise they want it, if they want perfectly personalised service, and if they want companies to be better able to protect vulnerable people and prevent fraud, then they need to get real about data usage.

The iGaming industry illustrates the point perfectly. On the one hand more and more data is needed in order remain compliant with Know Your Customer rules, and to deliver targeted advertising only to legal demographic groups, but on the other you have bleeding hearts wailing about privacy issues (see THE GAMBLING INDUSTRY: THE MEDIA’S FAVOURITE SCAPEGOAT).

Sure, technology can help make data management more efficient and compliant, but there is a fundamental root issue here. That is that politicians need to stop playing to the tune of pressure groups with misguided and unrealistic aims, in the hope of getting brownie points with an overly entitled and dangerously ignorant population.

Just as with Brexit, politicians have repeatedly proven willing to say whatever they think the general population wants to hear, without having the guts to tell them the truth. The basic truth is that if we want a vibrant, competitive digital economy, that gives people choice and reasonable protection, then politicians need to be honest with people.

After 6 months, it is becoming clear that GDPR is significantly damaging business (especially smaller and start-up firms), has become an expensive administrative nightmare for regulators, has made using the web more frustrating, and is still not understood by most people.  It has, however, lined the pockets of Amazon, Facebook, Google, and lawyers.