For some of America’s biggest newspapers and online services, it’s easier to block half a billion people from accessing your product than comply with Europe’s new General Data Protection Regulation.
The Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and The New York Daily News are just some telling visitors that, "Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in most European countries."
With about 500 million people living in the European Union, that’s a hard ban on one-and-a-half times the population of the U.S.
Blanket blocking EU internet connections -- which will include any U.S. citizens visiting Europe -- isn’t limited to newspapers. Popular read-it-later service Instapaper says on its website that it’s "temporarily unavailable for residents in Europe as we continue to make changes in light of the General Data Protection Regulation."
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WNU Editor: To say that this sucks is an understatement. I understand and respect the importance of having one's data private .... but I also understand and appreciate that many excellent web services and products are offered for free on the condition that they can use your data for marketing purposes. There is a need to have a balance .... but in the case of the European organization responsible for these new rules it appears that the word "balance" is not in their vocabulary .... it is their way or the the highway. For WNU readers of this blog .... this is going to hurt.
