If they don't do business there they don't have to comply. Making it available doesn't count

Just like I don't have to comply if I have EU users on a service, I am in the united stated. europe cannot enforce their laws here. It's just the same as if saudia arabia tried to enforce their laws here. They carry no wait

That is what makes the GDPR insignificant. It applies to Europe. Not the rest of the world. The cookie warnings for the vast majority of the internet are stupid an unnecessary

So call it illegal in europe but who cares?

It honestly is maddening how many people care about the GDPR that don't need to

There's many EU things that take effect with vendors outside the EU. Like software sales: Try to buy a license for a software package from the EU (or with an EU payment card) and you will always be hit with VAT at the rate of your country :( Even if the company is US based only. With the exception of really small ones I guess. In the above case it's annoying for us :) But in the case of GDPR it's good IMO.

Anyway the EU says it applies but I agree they don't really have much in the way of enforcement capability with companies that have no presence here. Though they could ask Apple/Google to remove it from the store I suppose.

And of course most companies do have a presence here. All multinationals do, and even the smaller ones. Even if it's just a sales office.

Most American companies don't though. They can safely ignore european laws

And also choose not operate in the nations whose laws they are flouting in most cases; EDIT: a few weeks ago EU posters here were describing how ERCOT was preventing access to the company's public facing website, citing not wanting to comply with GDPR