Many US news sites have yet to comply with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation after more than two months, leaving European visitors blocked.
Digital outlets run by Tronc, Lee Enterprises and GateHouse Media are among the hundreds of US news websites that remain unavailable within the EU, according to NiemanLab.
The General Data Protection Regulation, also known as GDPR, is designed to give the EU’s 500 million citizens greater control over how their information is used online. Adopted in April 2016, its provisions became directly applicable in EU member states after a two-year transitional period.
Many US outlets were prepared when it came into effect on May 25, when they started asking EU visitors for consent to use their data and offering a tailored EU experience.
Tronc’s publications include the New York Daily News, the Chicago Tribune and the Baltimore Sun, and it owned the Los Angeles Times at the time GDPR came into effect. Lee runs 46 daily newspapers in 21 states, while GateHouse publishes 144 daily newspapers in 38 states.
Tronc and GateHouse’s corporate sites can still be accessed from the EU, but Lee’s cannot.
None of the three immediately responded to requests for comment. The Los Angeles Times, which is under new ownership, also did not immediately respond.
Late last month, Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, suggested creating GDPR-like data protection laws for the US to regulate tech firms like Facebook, Google and Twitter.
