France has been among the most vocal critics of “big internet companies” and demanding various regulatory pressures be used to punish them. Last year it fined Google $57m for breaching privacy laws, and appears to be angling for even larger fines. So it’s difficult not to burst out in laughter after finding out that the French government is really, really mad that Google and Apple are protecting people’s privacy, when suddenly the French government wants to use those companies to engage in contact tracing. Indeed, it’s literally demanding both companies ease their privacy protections to help France track people who might have COVID-19.

as usual, europe’s posturing is all bullshit.

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