Escaping EU regulation

[mtbc]

A couple of years ago, in researching candidates for the US midterms, I mentioned how the General Data Protection Regulation coming into force meant how, some of the local news sources detect that I am connecting from the European Union and refuse to show me any webpages at all. I still run into the same issue frequently. It is sometimes a vaguer 403 status but commonly a message like, Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in most European countries. Similarly, that previous summer I mentioned how EU law effectively prevents me from buying ETFs, though I still hold a few hundred shares in Vanguard's Pacific Stock Index Fund that I bought before that law came into force.

A nice thing about my returning to the US next month is escaping these ways in which the EU shoots itself in the foot by not thinking through (or caring about?) the consequences of the laws it enacts. Finally, I will be able to browse news websites, trade ETFs, etc. again. Such restrictions (or workarounds) may seem small but the irritations accumulate because they feel so needless.