[_abox]

There's many EU things that take effect with vendors outside the EU. Like software sales: Try to buy a license for a software package from the EU (or with an EU payment card) and you will always be hit with VAT at the rate of your country :( Even if the company is US based only. With the exception of really small ones I guess. In the above case it's annoying for us :) But in the case of GDPR it's good IMO.

Anyway the EU says it applies but I agree they don't really have much in the way of enforcement capability with companies that have no presence here. Though they could ask Apple/Google to remove it from the store I suppose.

And of course most companies do have a presence here. All multinationals do, and even the smaller ones. Even if it's just a sales office.

[paulie_a]

Most American companies don't though. They can safely ignore european laws

[TT3351]

And also choose not operate in the nations whose laws they are flouting in most cases; EDIT: a few weeks ago EU posters here were describing how ERCOT was preventing access to the company's public facing website, citing not wanting to comply with GDPR