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Comment by fergbrain | Hacker News Reader

Many sites in the US have now blocked the EU because of GDPR. For example: https://www.latimes.com

Edit: corrected URL

Just noting, I can not access the link you posted and I am in the US. I have no problems retrieving https://www.latimes.com

Cheers...fixed!

Blocking EU IP addresses is somewhere between just not being ready and throwing a hissy fit. It doesn't block EU residents who are visiting other countries, and it doesn't block people in the EU who use a VPN. So all the responsibilities under the GDPR are still there!

At best, if an executive of the company ends up personally arrested in the EU, it allows them to make a legal argument to an EU court that they're not intending to do business with the EU. But if that's what GDPR enforcement really ends up becoming, I somehow don't see an EU court being sympathetic to that ploy!

And if the longer term plan is really to simply charge EU users in lieu of surveilling them, then there's even a payment stream to go after if they aren't responsive!

Blocking EU ip addresses is an extremely strong indication of intending to do no business with EU citizens. I expect capricious use of the law, but I doubt they could stretch it to apply in those cases.

People in other threads have stated authoritatively that web sites are not responsible for adhering to the GDPR rules in cases of EU citizens outside of the EU, if they do not cater to the EU in general.

Many sites that probably had next to no EU traffic have blocked the EU.

In practice I don't know anyone who has come across those blocks other than in response to [some site has blocked the EU] headlines.

Me. Exactly the LA Times.

I've probably clicked links to the LA Times half a dozen times since they started blocking the EU.

I know, I was thinking about sites like this one. I don't think I'm missing a lot, the internet is huge.

We need good news reporting in the US right now (I’m an expat) and losing easy access (I have a VPN to bypass) to sites like LA Times (#4 in the US by circulation) may not seem like a big deal, but I believe is a harbinger things to come.

It’s also just one example (search for “shutdown because of GDPR” and there are many more tales) and doesn’t account for future companies that now have to factor GDPR into their business plan and may not (likely won’t?) bring their services to Europe.

Again, I don't think we need services from companies not willing to respect GDPR. Its intent is quite clear IMO.

If you don't like how a service handles your data, don't use it. No need to legislate your wishes across the board for the rest of us.

True, and false. Because when a service gets used by a lot of people, it often becomes hard to avoid.

Take Facebook, for example: at least for my generation, when you don't have an account, you can sometimes feel like you are a burden for others, who organize everything within it (I don't have one and am doing fine, though).

Or take GMail: the only ways to avoid your private email being automatically processed by Google is either to avoid every person using GMail (well...), or to teach those person to use end-to-end encryption. Not that easy.

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