US. Tech company, Meta threatened to shut down its services, Facebook, and Instagram in Europe if it is
unable to access, transfer, store and process EU data on its US-based servers.
The social media giants warned it could walk away from countries in the European Union if a new EU law
restricting their use of Europeans’ data is introduced.
Data is crucial to the advertising business that generates nearly all of the company’s billions of dollars in
revenue and frameworks that have overseen the transfer of information from the continent are now
unclear.
The “Privacy Shield” online data arrangement between Europe and the United States was annulled on
July 2020 in a top EU court decision that threw transatlantic big tech into legal uncertainty.
In its annual report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Meta said current EU regulations are
preventing data transfer which it says is essential for its operations.
European regulators are currently drafting new laws which will decide how users’ data is transferred to
the US.
European authorities and the US government are still talking through ways to resolve the issue.
The social media giant recently saw its worst-ever plunge in market value, after disappointing quarterly
results that raised questions about its future.
this isn’t the first time that Meta has had issues with regulators and governments over the way it is
regulated.
In 2021, the social media network banned users in Australia from sharing news articles for several days
because it objected to a law designed to force them to pay publishers for content.
It brought up news stories after negotiations with the Australian government, resulting in tweaks to the
law.
source: dailymail.co.uk
No Responses