Zuck's Mad: Facebook Threatens to Shut Down Europe's Access to Platforms over Data Dispute

Conservative News DailyFebruary 9, 2022

Social media giant Facebook (now Meta) is reportedly considering shutting down access to its platforms including Instagram in response to EU regulations that may prevent the company from transferring user data to the U.S.

CNBC reports that Facebook is considering shutting down its services including Instagram in Europe if regulations prevent the company from transferring user data back to the U.S.

(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

In its annual report last Thursday, Facebook issued a warning that the new legislation being developed by EU regulators could have an effect on the company, stating: “If a new transatlantic data transfer framework is not adopted and we are unable to continue to rely on SCCs (standard contractual clauses) or rely upon other alternative means of data transfers from Europe to the United States, we will likely be unable to offer a number of our most significant products and services, including Facebook and Instagram, in Europe.”

Facebook added that this “would materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.” European lawmaker Axel Voss commented on the situation on Twitter, stating that “Meta cannot just blackmail the EU into giving up its data protection standards.” Voss added that “leaving the EU would be their loss.”

A Facebook spokesperson said on Monday that the company wished to remain in Europe and that it had raised this concern relating to data regulation in previous filings. “But the simple reality is that Meta, and many other businesses, organizations and services, rely on data transfers between the EU and the U.S. in order to operate global services,” the spokesperson said.

In 2020, Ireland’s Protection Commission sent a preliminary order to Facebook telling the company to stop transferring user data from the EU to the U.S. Nick Clegg, Facebook’s vice president of global affairs and communications, said in a blog post at the time:

The Irish Data Protection Commission has commenced an inquiry into Facebook controlled EU-US data transfers, and has suggested that SCCs cannot in practice be used for EU-US data transfers.

While this approach is subject to further process, if followed, it could have a far-reaching effect on businesses that rely on SCCs and on the online services many people and businesses rely on.