This morning, on the day the GDPR came into effect, I tried to access the Los Angeles Times – one of the US’s leading newspapers – but found myself redirected to this landing page. Apparently, the LA Times is not prepared for the new law. At least they had the sense and seriousness to stop European access. Four percent global worldwide annual revenue or €20 million (whichever is higher) in fines for non-compliance is no joking matter.
So, did the LA Times have a privacy lawyer who said they weren’t ready, or a lawyer smart enough to know that until they got that privacy lawyer, they wouldn’t be ready? Or, did they simply make a business decision that their European market wasn’t big enough to justify the costs of compliance?
UPDATE:
It looks like the La Times isn’t the only one. The Chicago Tribune has the exact same landing page, so it appears that all of the publications managed by tronc, inc. are following the same protocol.
Have you noticed that you’re now receiving dozens of emails from all sorts of services that you forget you ever used? Everyone is suddenly sending you requests to accept their new privacy terms. Yes, that’s the imminent arrival of the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation, due out in stores on May 25, 2018, talking to you. So if you’re feeling like the prettiest one at the dance or the most popular kid at school, then you have the GDPR to thank (along with its threat of massive fines).
The Entrepre-Lawyer 