European Data Protection Supervisor Giovanni Buttarelli discussed the current state of the digital information ecosystem, likening it to a sweatshop. Buttarelli cites the number of messages from online services announcing the changes to their privacy policies, saying if the new terms are not accepted by the EU General Data Protection Regulation implementation date, the services will be unavailable to use, violating the spirit of the law. “There are already noises suggesting that if you object to being tracked in exchange for the 'free' services on which many of ... our lives now depend, then the only alternative is to pay,” Buttarelli writes. “But the fundamental right to privacy and related freedoms like free speech and non-discrimination apply to all, they cannot be the exclusive privilege of those who can afford to pay.”
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