[bowlofpetunias]

It's not the law that's the difference here. The clue is under the headline:

> The GDPR’s premise, that consumers should be in charge of their own personal data, is the right one

That's not just the GDPR's premise, that's the very foundation privacy as a civil right in Europe, and has been for a very long time.

The GDPR is just yet another attempt to force companies who have wilfully ignored the rights of millions of Europeans to start complying with laws we already had in place. It's not something new, just an iteration in enforcement.

America should make laws that suit America's values and principles, but as it stands, America has no deep concept of privacy. The GDPR is alien to American values.

(BTW, that quote is subtly wrong but illustrates the huge gap in perception: it should be "citizens", not "consumers"...)