News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Google's reCAPTCHA likely illegal in Europe?. Parent comment

Re:Google's reCAPTCHA likely illegal in Europe? by tremon on Thursday June 22, 2023 @01:35PM (#36435777)
It’s not a direct identifier

Except when it is. I have a semi-permanent home IP (it only changes when the MAC address on my router changes and I get assigned a new lease) and only one user in my home. My IP address pretty uniquely identifies me.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Google's reCAPTCHA likely illegal in Europe? by tredre3 on Thursday June 22, 2023 @07:53PM (#36440879)
Most cable modem users in north america are in the same situation. And small shops usually have a business package with a static IP too.

I don't understand the point keyboard warriors who insist IP doesn't identify a person and IP isn't PII are trying to make.

Are they just being pedantic? Because yes, often an IP is shared. Yes, obviously the legal system shouldn't assume a IP equals a person. That would be very problematic.

But when it comes to mere tracking, an IP can absolutely identify directly a person. So why not just treat it as such all the time? What's the downside of considering IP to be PII?

[ Parent | on HN ]