>1. Suppose that the data is used to pay for keeping the site afloat? Does that make it essential?
If you use the data for bank transactions or paypal subscriptions it's essential.
If you sell the data for profit, it might be essential but it falls under "opt-in only" of the GDPR. So in this part; not essential in the above sense.
>2. Suppose my site is presented as a site that has basic and premium content. The premium content is behind a subscription paywall.
Subscription paywall is fine. What isn't fine is degrading the service if the user opts out of having trackers included in the website when they visit.
>3. In #2, does it matter if that's how my site works for people that I can identify as being the EU, but works different for people elsewhere (e.g., for people in the US it collects data on everyone and does not offer the option to pay)?
GDPR only applies when you target people currently in the EU (citizen or not) and EU citizens outside the EU.
>4. Suppose I just say "the hell with this...I don't want to deal with GDPR", and have my site ask first time visitors if they are in the EU or EU citizens.
If they say no, I would say that is okay to believe considering the GDPR also requires a "Are you 16" question. Ask a lawyer.
Where is this specified? It's not what I understood from Recital 23†; as far as I can tell, it applies if the business is established in the EU or if the user is in the EU, but not to EU citizens outside the EU (if the business is foreign).
I read your link, and I think it depends on what "being in" means in the phrase "data subjects who are in the [European] Union". It could refer either to physical location (as in "I am in Germany") or to membership (as in "Germany is in the EU"), or possibly to both. I would also expect it to refer to physical location after reading this, but I'm most definitely not a lawyer.
If you use the data for bank transactions or paypal subscriptions it's essential.
If you sell the data for profit, it might be essential but it falls under "opt-in only" of the GDPR. So in this part; not essential in the above sense.
>2. Suppose my site is presented as a site that has basic and premium content. The premium content is behind a subscription paywall.
Subscription paywall is fine. What isn't fine is degrading the service if the user opts out of having trackers included in the website when they visit.
>3. In #2, does it matter if that's how my site works for people that I can identify as being the EU, but works different for people elsewhere (e.g., for people in the US it collects data on everyone and does not offer the option to pay)?
GDPR only applies when you target people currently in the EU (citizen or not) and EU citizens outside the EU.
>4. Suppose I just say "the hell with this...I don't want to deal with GDPR", and have my site ask first time visitors if they are in the EU or EU citizens.
If they say no, I would say that is okay to believe considering the GDPR also requires a "Are you 16" question. Ask a lawyer.