> It is believed the vulnerability began when the systems of the Starwood hotels group were compromised in 2014. Marriott subsequently acquired Starwood in 2016
Starwood was well beyond the "move fast and break things" phase of companies. Many companies aren't, and if you're trying to say all startups have to comply with GDPR on day 1, you are wrong.
> U.S. based businesses may actually be exempt based upon some interpretation of Article 3.2(a):
This is a very different situation from your original statements based on size and maturity of a company - but I'll concede that the EU reach clearly only applies to EU interests .
https://www.internetlegalattorney.com/are-there-gdpr-exempti...
It's not a blanket immunity, but it's not universal as you say.
Yes, it's probably a drafting defect, but I think one would be very brave indeed to try to rely on it, especially given that establishing an art 30 record is, practically speaking, a prerequisite for being in a position to comply with the rest of GDPR.
Unfortunately, this is a good demonstration of two criticisms made of the GDPR right from the start: the costs of creating new paperwork in the approved format even if it makes no material difference to any actual data processing, and ambiguity about what is required or permitted even in quite fundamental respects.