Technology

US News Websites Down In Europe As New Privacy Laws Go Into Effect

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Several media conglomerate websites are currently down in Europe as they have failed to comply with the European Union’s dramatic new privacy laws that go into effect Friday.

Sites like The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The New York Daily News, and other high-profile publications from the Tronc (formerly Tribune) media network are down, the BBC first reported on Friday.

The message displayed is: “Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in most European countries. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to the EU market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.”

Screenshot of The Los Angeles Times from a European IP address (screen shot)

Another media conglomerate of local newspapers, Lee Enterprises, also has its sites down for European Union users. Its statement reads: “We’re sorry. This site is temporarily unavailable. We recognize you are attempting to access this website from a country belonging to the European Economic Area (EEA) including the EU which enforces the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and therefore cannot grant you access at this time.”

The GDPR is a sweeping regulation going into effect Friday in European Union that applies to all European and foreign companies that collect users’ data. The regulations are vast, but it includes rules that protect users’ information.

Websites that collect users’ data must receive their permission first, must provide detailed reports about what they collect from users, and how they use it.

The GDPR also gives internet users the “right to be forgotten” which means they can have all the data and information the a website collected on them permanently deleted and barred from distributing it.

Companies that fail to comply with the GDPR will face a fine of 20 million euros or 4 percent of their annual turnover, which ever is greater.

Sites like The Daily Caller, The Daily Signal, The Drudge Report, and other conservative news publications are all available for readers in the EU to enjoy.

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