Reflection

I started this blog as an assignment for a class; however, as the semester progressed, I realized it became a tool for my internship.  I chose the topic of data privacy and cybersecurity in Europe (specifically England) because of GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) recently going into effect. I was curious to see how the new regulation affected consumers, businesses and future regulations in other countries.  Over the past few months, this blog has taught me how laws in one country affect businesses in another country, how different governments react to certain situations and similarities of opinions between the United States and Europe. 

First, writing this blog about GDPR has taught me how laws in one country can affect other businesses. We live in a globally connected world because of the internet, therefore, when Europe implemented GDPR, U.S. companies like, Google and Facebook, needed to comply with the new laws. Otherwise, they would be fined if they didn't comply.  However, these changes have affected the businesses in two ways: it decreased their advertising revenue and has prevented smaller companies from competing in the market. This proves that laws not only affect one country but the whole globe. 

Second, GDPR has taught me how different governments solve problems. Europeans are more "stringent" on regulating businesses' collection of data than the United States.  In a Pew survey, 85% of German respondents favored stricter data privacy standards, while only 29% of Americans agreed. Additionally, the United States can be slower about passing laws on regulating businesses. Therefore, countries in Europe can work at a faster pace and pass regulations quickly, 

Finally, this blog has taught me that we are all still figuring the internet out.  The internet is vast and can be hard to monitor. Therefore, as more people get connected, we will need to rely on each other to find solutions to problems. Europe is not the only place with data privacy and cybersecurity problems; it's happening across the world. Therefore, each we all need to work together to find lasting solutions. 

In conclusion, keeping this blog has taught me about laws in other countries, the functionality of different governments and why we should all work together to solve problems. 

Overall, I also have appreciated taking Global News as a class. I never thought I would get the chance to travel abroad because I lacked various financial resources; however, this class has given me the opportunity to interact with students from a different country. This class has taught me the importance of communication,  how to make friends over virtual hangouts, but most importantly that I'm not that different from students in other countries.