GDPR and the End of the Internet’s Grand Bargain

After a decade of data misuse scandals involving public and private data collectors, the EU enacted its General Data Protection Regulation, which will dramatically change data collection and use practices worldwide. The poorly-thought out provisions of the GDPR, however, are certain to raise transaction costs for users, service providers and governments alike, costs that are unlikely to be offset by benefits. The Internet's grand bargain -- the friction-free exchange of information for subsidized content and services -- may be coming to an end, which may or may not have been the EU's intention