The child worker is a third party that has nothing to do with the customer and the merchant. If the merchant is offering me content for the exchange of information, why should the government able to stop this transaction between parties that mutually agree?
It's already legal to "force" your customers to exchange money for content. If anything, it's even worse because a lot of children end up malnourished because their parents spent to much money on entertainment.
> The child worker is a third party that has nothing to do with the customer and the merchant
This is a fair counterpoint; it is not a perfect comparison. I think it did its job though, to clarify (now with your help) the actual point of contention:
> why should the government able to stop this transaction between parties that mutually agree?
Most nations have a concept of human/inalienable/natural rights, which cannot be signed away. For example, it's usually illegal to sell yourself into slavery. In the GDPR's view, privacy is such a right.
Do you think the government should not be able to stop these transactions at all, or do you think privacy should not fall into that category? Or a different objection I haven't thought of.
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I have my own views, but I'm not really interested in arguing them. It largely comes down to what moral system you subscribe to, which I think is a waste of time to discuss on HN (or any public forum) -- there's too many people on the internet to argue with everyone you disagree with; better to learn to get along, and focus advocacy on communities closer to home. As for why I comment at all: figuring out how to frame issues is not a waste of time — it's much easier (less emotional) and provides a useful reference for future conversation.
I appreciate your response, and I think my view is broadened as well :)
> do you think privacy should not fall into that category?
This one. Supermarket rewards are an example exchanging privacy for money that is rather uncontroversial. Obviously tech companies collect a lot more information, but I believe the same principle applies.
It's already legal to "force" your customers to exchange money for content. If anything, it's even worse because a lot of children end up malnourished because their parents spent to much money on entertainment.