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.
The Entrepre-Lawyer 