From what I have read about GDPR here, the intent matters. By blocking EU ip addresses, they have shown their intent to not service the EU and therefore are exempt from GDPR.

> they still have the data of European residents

Source? Ensuring the permanent deletion of certain data, once, is easier than implementing an a new and complicated compliance regime.

There is no source needed that is a result of jurisdictions and national sovereignty

If China passed a law saying you must now delete all references to Tiananmen Square if you have nothing to expoae yourself to their legal jurisdiction you can keep it and literally tell them to get bent.

This is what I don't understand. Why did the LA Times add the IP filter in the first place? Why do they care if they get sued and/or fined by a foreign country? Let the EU block their IPs or DNS themselves if they feel like it.

To make money advertising to EU users, most advertisers probably have some EU presence, hence the ad network would too. Thus, the ad network might require their users to be GPDR-compliant.