Jeez, what a mess. To extend the McDonald’s analogy, when McDonald’s is serving its American customers, it doesn’t heed European laws about beef and potatoes. Because those laws are irrelevant to them, they have no bearing on McDonald’s making money (again in the context of serving their American customers). McDonald’s is never going to check what Brussels says about dairy before they make a milkshake in Spokane. Sorry.

My friend, that couple of sentences you’re so wound up about means more or less exactly what you’ve said at the end. Businesses aren’t in the business of giving a shit about things that don’t affect their business. You’re upset that they don’t word it more bluntly? Really?

Actions have consequences is my response. Sorry you all didn’t get the consequences you wanted. But it’s very frustrating the childish way people on HN approach these issues. Zero material analysis or thinking, always pointedly naive idealism of this type: “well you SAID you care about Europeans”- come on.

I’m begging you all to take the next step and think through the actual forces at play, instead of banging on with the churlishness.

The way this works is very simple- law is introduced, business figures out the easiest way to deal with it and get back to what they were doing, rinse and repeat.

Maybe the European search engines do a better job at this. You could give them a try.