Meta the parent company of Facebook threatens to shut down their services in Europe if the European Commission passes its data privacy law. Despite the company’s threat which was revealed in its annual letter, EU officials remain unfazed.
The law that is expected to pass will ensure that users’ data in Europe will pass through European servers, be processed, and then be sent to Facebook’s servers in this case for example.
Within the report, the company stated, “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.”
EU lawmaker Axel Voss took to Twitter and added that it would be the company’s loss if they do decide to leave. Despite the frenzy that this caused on social media, it seems as if it’s more bark than bite at this bite.
It’s impossible but it would be improbable for Facebook to leave Europe as they are currently at crossroads with their company as competitors are eating out their market share.
This law isn’t new as there have been rumors for some time that this will soon come to pass. Over the last decade, the European Commission has been slowly tightening the noose around the neck of large multi-national tech companies who they accuse of indulging monopolistic practices to drive out local competitors.
In this case, data privacy and governance are a topic they seemingly take seriously and expect new laws to pass in the near future.
