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Comment by chatmasta | Hacker News Reader

On the positive side, it could also reduce product lock-in by increasing data portability. For example if I'm creating a social network startup, and users can export their data from Facebook in a parseable format, then it's trivial for me to offer an "import your data from Facebook" feature. The interesting question then becomes, could Facebook do anything about that? In the past they would be able to sue the startup for appropriating data that Facebook was granted an exclusive license to via TOS. Now it's not so clear. Where are the limits of my control of my own data?

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The data belongs to the user. There's nothing Facebook can do to prevent exporting if it's via the data backup. They can just design it in a way that is easy to read by humans but very challenging for parsers.

Yeah, I understand it belongs to the user and they can export it. But does any third party service then have a right to allow the users to import their data from Facebook?

Yes, the user owns the data and can give consent.

>They can just design it in a way that is easy to read by humans but very challenging for parsers.

This is explicitly forbidden in article 20.1

Machine readable only means no images. You can still structure it in a way that it's a pain to import. Or use changing structures. Definitely violates the spirit of the law but don't think Facebook cares about that.

I'd argue that the GDPR is entirely about spirit.

well they can make a big, very readable screenshot of your data, handwritten by an adversarial DNN

What's with generated images (some crap like facebook frames or generated slideshows etc) doesn't have facebook the copyright on those - at least the designs? Should those be included in the export?

I don't understand how a facebook post made by me 'belongs' to me. It was addressed to specific audience that facebook made available to me, it wouldn't have existed in the first place if facebook didn't exist. How does it completely belong to me.

If you make a song on a Gibson guitar, should the song belong to Gibson?

I think your analogy holds true for the documents you write on MS word that you bought. Posting on facebook is equivalent to recoding on a song in Gibson's studio, in which case it doesn't completely belong to you.

Facebook has been offering their data for free for a very long time. in fact that's what they re accused of. They also have export tools since long ago, like twitter IIRC.

I think their terms specifically say that your data belongs to you.

Well, to an extent. They still reserve the right to block apps from using their API if they infringe on Facebook business interests. For example you can’t make an alternative newsfeed app. People have tried to make apps that aggregate multiple social account feeds, and they got sued / C&Ded IIRC.

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