Hot US Import: European Regulations

Wireless speaker company Sonos, Apple, Facebook, and Twitter  have updated their global privacy rules in anticipation of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). GDPR is the latest sign of the EU’s growing power in global regulation. With increasing frequency, EU rules targeting industries within the bloc—from consumer products to financial services—have set international benchmarks. Some are taken piecemeal, as with GDPR, from which non-EU companies are cherry-picking elements. Other rules have become de facto world-wide references.