Privacy regulation is tightening, loopholes closing fast

Virginia's ban on selling geolocation data went into effect July 1, and the HN thread immediately surfaced the most common workaround: sell a 'custom computer' and give the data away free. This is exactly how FLOCK, the license plate reader company, reportedly sidesteps data laws. Legislators write the law around the product; industry rewrites the product around the law.

At the same time, 'An American Privacy Emergency' generated significant discussion, with commenters frustrated that the issue has become partisan. The post calls for contacting legislators but, as one commenter noted, didn't even include a link to do so.

The pattern across both threads: privacy law is moving, but it's moving through a cat-and-mouse dynamic where enforcement lags exploitation by years. For founders, that creates both risk (laws catching up to existing practices) and opportunity (tools that help companies comply or users protect themselves).