Meta warns EU of pulling out Facebook, Instagram over data ownership issue

Meta might consider shutting down Facebook and Instagram in Europe if it is held from transferring user data to the US.  

In its annual report, the company said that if it is “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.”  

A Privacy Shield agreement with the US was nullified by the European Court of Justice in July 2020. However, now with new threats from Meta, European regulators are now making altercations to the regulations on how European data is transferred across the Atlantic.  

Although it does not look too reasonable that Meta would take off Instagram and Facebook from its most rewarding market, its statement points out that increasing pressure between the company and the lawmakers over data ownership.

Also read: Facebook parent Meta blames Apple, rising competition as it loses million users for first time

According to Bloomberg, the European Commission said negotiations with Washington have  deepened but they “take time given also the complexity of the issues discussed and the need to strike a balance between privacy and national security.  

“Only an arrangement that is fully compliant with the requirements set by the EU court can deliver the stability and legal certainty stakeholders expect on both sides of the Atlantic,” the spokesperson added.  

“We have absolutely no desire and no plans to withdraw from Europe, but the simple reality is that Meta, and many other businesses, organizations and services rely on data transfers between the EU and the US in order to operate global services,” a Meta spokesperson said.