Comment by wfme
4 years ago
> the big difference is there is a means of holding US companies to account if they violate privacy standards
Have yet to see this in practice. What usually happens is a bunch of articles are written "condemning" their actions, they are fined some ridiculously small amount and then business continues as usual.
The most recent action that seems to have had a significant impact on how Facebook captures data is Apple's "Ask App Not to Track". This is not exactly a shining example of the how the US system protects users privacy as the action was taken by a company, not a regulator.
That is more than what happens in China, and the demand for better privacy practices in the US is allowed to persist, build, and find its way into legislation and business practices of competitors.
US companies and regulators do not have to be shining beacons of user privacy and protections to be better than a system with no boundary between the state and private companies, with no expectation of privacy, and with censorship of opinion that criticizes shortcomings of the state.