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In Meta's official annual report, intended for the Securities and Exchange Commission, there is a surprisingly explicit paragraph that envisages a scenario in which the company formerly known as Facebook would have to completely cease operations of Instagram and Facebook in Europe. That's right: no Instagram, no Facebook, for all Europeans.
At issue are European data protection regulations that prevent Meta from storing Europeans' data on US servers. Meta claims that the ability to process user data in different countries is critical for the company, both for operations and ad targeting. European laws designed to protect user privacy by keeping users' data in the EU have overridden previous systems. With the EU and US unable to reach new agreements on data sharing, Meta said it may have to leave the continent with Facebook and Instagram. The section states:
Meta: “We call on regulators to take a proportionate and pragmatic approach”
If we are unable to transfer data between the countries and regions in which we operate, or if we are prevented from sharing data between our products and services, it could affect our ability to deliver our services, the way we deliver our services, or our ability to target advertising.
Meta then clarifies that it believes it will be able to reach new agreements by 2022. However, if this is not the case, "we will likely be unable to offer a number of our key products and services, including Facebook and Instagram, in Europe." The London financial newspaper CityAM then asked Meta whether they had understood this correctly. Meta responded with a Explanation and attempted to compare the plight of the multi-billion dollar international conglomerate Meta with the problems that small businesses might face.
We call on regulators to take a proportionate and pragmatic approach to minimise disruption to the many thousands of companies that, like Facebook, have relied in good faith on these mechanisms to transfer data in a secure manner.
Instagram & Facebook: No, there is no threat of shutdown
But anyone who actually believes that Meta is interested in shutting down Instagram and Facebook in Europe is mistaken. Meta rejects the characterization of its disclosure as a "threat" and wrote in an email to various media outlets that informing the SEC about the scenario was not an indication of future business plans. Meta has made similar references in its reports in the past.
We have no desire or intention to withdraw from Europe. The reality is that Meta and many other companies, organizations and services rely on data transfers between the EU and the US to provide global services. Like other companies, we have complied with European regulations and rely on standard contractual clauses and appropriate data protection safeguards to provide a global service. Fundamentally, companies need clear, global rules to protect transatlantic data traffic in the long term and, like more than 70 other companies across a wide range of industries, we are closely monitoring the potential impact of these developments on our European operations.
Therefore, no user of these services should panic, both Facebook and Instagram will probably be around for a very long time. (Photo by sergei_elagin / Bigstockphoto)
