Reminds me of the outrage™ when US newspapers blocked connections from Europe over the GDPR.
Regulations have consequences. Not all those consequences are the consequences you want. Sometimes exiting a small market looks like a better option than compliance.
Sometimes HN downvotes posts for challenging a political crusade by pointing out what it did to those who promoted it. ;)
For many U.S. businesses I'm sure it's pretty much irrelevant. For others, not so much. That's why you see some U.S. businesses complying with EU directives, while others simply block visitors from the EU.
When America asserts itself as the dominant power, international readers American newspapers is not a small market. At the very least, it doesn't match the spirit of the web to have region locked content.
Regulations have consequences. Not all those consequences are the consequences you want. Sometimes exiting a small market looks like a better option than compliance.
Sometimes HN downvotes posts for challenging a political crusade by pointing out what it did to those who promoted it. ;)