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>all that crap that the politicians force not just on the big ones that need it but also the little forum run by the one kid in his bedroom It's bad enough but

>all that crap that the politicians force not just on the big ones that need it but also the little forum run by the one kid in his bedroom It's bad enough but not quite as bad as you claim. Article 19 of the DSA exempts small websites from the most onerous and expensive rules that big platforms have to comply with. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2065/oj/eng https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2065/oj/eng

wolvoleo 25d ago
That's only the DSA, it's only a small part of web regulation in the EU. Overall there is very little in the way of exceptions for small businesses. Similarly with the EPR / PPWR changes that went into effect on the 12th of August, a lot of owner-operated microbusinesses have had to stop shipping to many EU countries due to the crazy costs of registration (which has to be done in each individual EU country no less, totally contrary to the idea of the EU): https://ppwrconnect.com/blog/ppwr-applies-12-august-2026-who-is-affected https://ppwrconnect.com/blog/ppwr-applies-12-august-2026-who... Some artists send only one padded envelope to some countries (or none, in some years) and have to deal with hundreds of euros of registration cost for some countries. It's ridiculous. There's 2 little pieces of relief for microbusiness but most of the crazy red tape applies. The problem with their regulation is that the big ones that were meant to be targeted (e.g. Google and Meta) have plenty of lawyers to sidestep all the regulation, and the small initiatives are all killed because they don't have such capabilities. We're still tracked by Google and Meta everywhere. And then there was the 3 euro per product type surcharge on small packets, making it impossible for small artists to buy items that cost 20-30 cents a piece. Legislation lobbied for by the big buck chains like Lidl and Ahold. To be honest I'm now strongly in favour of reeling in the EU project to simply some economic treaties and easy movement of people because they've become a stringpuppet for big business lobby. Definitely not some big federal state (we've seen where that path leads in America)
- fauigerzigerk 25d ago
  >That's only the DSA, it's only a small part of web regulation in the EU Absolutely, but the context was small online forums. I don't disagree with the gist of your general criticism.
- dvdkon 25d ago
  I share your frustration, but won't restricting the EU only cause barriers to trade to grow? A surprising amount needs to be unified in order to have fully free trade, and I see unwillingness to lose existing national structures as a big problem in today's EU.
  - wolvoleo 24d ago
    As a socialist I don't believe in free trade above all anyway. Some free trade sure but it should not be a goal, internal protection it's more important. We shouldn't move to the American model. And I see the EU being corrupted more and more by fascist and extreme right parties from Italy, Hungary, Poland, Czech etc. Even in France and Germany they're on the brink. This is why I think it's important to push back against further integration.
- inigyou 24d ago
  Just send the package. When something is imported, the importer is the one who's liable for all the conformance stuff. If customs stops the package because it's packaging isn't recyclable (this won't happen, but they'll stop it to make you pay taxes) the importer will correctly be mad at customs. Why are we all complying in advance with the broadest possible understanding of laws?
  - wolvoleo 24d ago
    You can get huge fines as the shipper. If you're sending from outside the EU they don't have a hope in hell to actually collect that but if you're inside they do.

wolvoleo 25d ago

That's only the DSA, it's only a small part of web regulation in the EU. Overall there is very little in the way of exceptions for small businesses. Similarly with the EPR / PPWR changes that went into effect on the 12th of August, a lot of owner-operated microbusinesses have had to stop shipping to many EU countries due to the crazy costs of registration (which has to be done in each individual EU country no less, totally contrary to the idea of the EU): https://ppwrconnect.com/blog/ppwr-applies-12-august-2026-who-is-affected https://ppwrconnect.com/blog/ppwr-applies-12-august-2026-who... Some artists send only one padded envelope to some countries (or none, in some years) and have to deal with hundreds of euros of registration cost for some countries. It's ridiculous. There's 2 little pieces of relief for microbusiness but most of the crazy red tape applies. The problem with their regulation is that the big ones that were meant to be targeted (e.g. Google and Meta) have plenty of lawyers to sidestep all the regulation, and the small initiatives are all killed because they don't have such capabilities. We're still tracked by Google and Meta everywhere. And then there was the 3 euro per product type surcharge on small packets, making it impossible for small artists to buy items that cost 20-30 cents a piece. Legislation lobbied for by the big buck chains like Lidl and Ahold. To be honest I'm now strongly in favour of reeling in the EU project to simply some economic treaties and easy movement of people because they've become a stringpuppet for big business lobby. Definitely not some big federal state (we've seen where that path leads in America)

fauigerzigerk 25d ago
>That's only the DSA, it's only a small part of web regulation in the EU Absolutely, but the context was small online forums. I don't disagree with the gist of your general criticism.
dvdkon 25d ago
I share your frustration, but won't restricting the EU only cause barriers to trade to grow? A surprising amount needs to be unified in order to have fully free trade, and I see unwillingness to lose existing national structures as a big problem in today's EU.
- wolvoleo 24d ago
  As a socialist I don't believe in free trade above all anyway. Some free trade sure but it should not be a goal, internal protection it's more important. We shouldn't move to the American model. And I see the EU being corrupted more and more by fascist and extreme right parties from Italy, Hungary, Poland, Czech etc. Even in France and Germany they're on the brink. This is why I think it's important to push back against further integration.
inigyou 24d ago
Just send the package. When something is imported, the importer is the one who's liable for all the conformance stuff. If customs stops the package because it's packaging isn't recyclable (this won't happen, but they'll stop it to make you pay taxes) the importer will correctly be mad at customs. Why are we all complying in advance with the broadest possible understanding of laws?
- wolvoleo 24d ago
  You can get huge fines as the shipper. If you're sending from outside the EU they don't have a hope in hell to actually collect that but if you're inside they do.