GDPR is punishment

Anyone who's trying to implement it feels this without knowing why.

Conceived by a bureaucratic mindset, intended to bring certainty and safety, it will strangle so much more than it creates. After the brief joy of automatically unsubscribing to databases has passed, what will it bring?

It sets up impossible tasks. How can any organization or individual be sure they have deleted a piece of data - from every instance and backup that exists? How can two people communicate about that piece of data without creating more instances, which must be erased, and yet be able to prove to each other that they have deleted it? Masses of people can demand unpaid action from you, 'Show me what you know about me' making all services more expensive to run. Many accountants and lawyers I talk to are happy about the new revenue GDPR will generate. But I don't think they recognize the damage it will do.

Life is about taking risks. The benefits we get from the online world are huge and hard to quantify. Imagine for a moment if you COULDN'T 'search', 'locate', 'share' free, in an instant. It's true there is a balance to be found to protect personal privacy, but is this one-size-fits-all regulation the answer?

The world outside the EU will continue to innovate and grow, to the people's benefit. Inside GDPR, companies and innovators will be tied in knots. They'll pull back, forced to spend capital on unproductive defence against data breach. Let the people decide.

We need an opt-out. Clearly branded none-GDPR services, where consumers can choose to take the risk. Then European companies can continue to innovate, and we can see what works best.