Some top US websites are unavailable in Europe, and several of the top web companies are being investigated after new EU data protection rules came into effect on Friday.
The Chicago Tribune and LA Times were among those saying they were currently unavailable in most European countries.
Within hours of the law starting complaints were filed against US tech giants within hours of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) taking effect. Facebook, Google, Instagram and WhatsApp are accused of forcing users to consent to targeted advertising to use the services.
Under the rules, companies working in the EU – or any association or club in the bloc – must show they have a lawful basis for processing personal data or face hefty fines.
There are six legal bases for using personal data, including getting express consent from consumers. However, in most cases, firms must also show that they need the personal data for a specific purpose.
News sites within the Tronc and Lee Enterprises media publishing groups were affected. This includes the New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, Orlando Sentinel and Baltimore Sun.
Its message read: “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.”
The new chairwoman of the European Data Protection Board, Andrea Jelinek, told the FT she expected cases to be filed “imminently”.
“If the complainants come, we will be ready,” she said.
