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Meta Suggests It May Close Facebook and Instagram In European Union
https://www.iflscience.com ^ | 9 FEBRUARY 2022 | Tom Hale

Posted on 02/09/2022 9:28:02 AM PST by Red Badger

Meta suggests it may have to shut down Facebook and Instagram in the European Union (EU) if it’s no longer able to transfer data across the Atlantic between Europe and the US. While the suggestion appears to just be posturing, some top politicians in Europe seem almost hilariously unphased by the proposition.

Meta’s suggestion was quietly mentioned in the company’s annual report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission last week. The remarks regard new EU legalization currently being drawn up that would require data processing service providers to set up safeguards against illegal data transfers to non-EU governments.

“If a new transatlantic data transfer framework is not adopted and we are unable to continue to rely on SCCs 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,” the reports reads. It adds that this would significantly impact their business and finances.

In July 2020, Europe's top court struck down the transatlantic data transfer deal known as the Privacy Shield. The EU and the US have been looking to reach a new accord, but no solid agreement has yet been found. To put it simply: the US is very keen to freely trade data with the EU, but the EU wants to be tough on data security.

In a statement given to CNBC, a Meta spokesperson said the company has no desire or immediate plans to withdraw any services from Europe. However, they added 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.”

Meta has had some tension with the EU before over the issue of data protection. In 2020, an EU privacy regulator sent the company (then known only as Facebook) a preliminary order to suspend data transfers to the US about its EU users. Friction was caused, but Facebook continued to operate in the EU.

I have always called for an alternative to the EU US #privacyshield to find a balanced agreement on data exchange + always called for #GDPR flexibility. However, #META cannot just blackmail the EU into giving up its data protection standards, leaving the EU would be their loss.

— Axel Voss MdEP (@AxelVossMdEP) February 7, 2022 Across the Atlantic in Europe, politicians don’t appear to be backing down, nor seem too worried about any indications that Meta may pull out of the EU in the future.

“Meta cannot just blackmail the EU into giving up its data protection standards, leaving the EU would be their loss,” tweeted Axel Voss, German lawyer and a member of the European Parliament.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck went further with his criticism, telling reporters at an event in Paris on Monday: “After being hacked I’ve lived without Facebook and Twitter for four years and life has been fantastic,” according to Bloomberg.

“[The EU] is such a big internal market with so much economic power that if we act in unity we won’t be intimidated by something like this,” continued Habeck.

“I can confirm that life is very good without Facebook and that we would live very well without Facebook,” added French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire. “Digital giants must understand that the European continent will resist and affirm its sovereignty.”


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Germany; Government; United Kingdom
KEYWORDS: chat; chatforum; eussr; facebook; farcebook; fascistbook; fascistbuch; fecesbook; fourthreich; homophones; meta; notnews; unfazed; unphased; wrongforum; zuckerberg
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To: Fungi

“..How does one know when the clock is correct if that’s the only one?...”

One doesn’t. That’s the irony of it...LOL


21 posted on 02/09/2022 9:49:20 AM PST by lgjhn23 (Pray for America....)
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To: Red Badger

EUROPE could not be more fortunate if that occurs.


22 posted on 02/09/2022 9:51:45 AM PST by Chickensoup ( Leftists totalitarian fascists are eradicating conservatives)
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To: Red Badger

I can confirm that life is very good without Facebook

Zing pow bam suck it.


23 posted on 02/09/2022 9:56:20 AM PST by Vaduz ( )
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To: Red Badger

24 posted on 02/09/2022 9:57:06 AM PST by kiryandil (China Joe and Paycheck Hunter - the Chink in America's defenses)
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To: Vaduz

I ditched it in 2017..................don’t miss it at all.............


25 posted on 02/09/2022 9:57:21 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Red Badger

Smart move


26 posted on 02/09/2022 10:02:59 AM PST by Vaduz ( )
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To: Red Badger
FB, at one time, was a lot of fun and interesting. Users could speak their minds with no problem. There were dozens of various interest groups. I joined in 2010 strictly for political reasons. I was never bothered about my posts that were exposing Obama for the traitor he was.

It developed into a monster the last 2 years of Trump's term. I was 'suspended' a number of times in the last 18 months. Pro Trump posts were pulled arbitrarily. One time they even suspended me for a post that was six years old! Then they started effing with exposure. I had over 5K 'friends' at one point and I utilized the platform with pro-Trump messages and videos etc. All of a sudden, the 'likes' dwindled down to maybe 10. Other users that I followed were no longer easy to find.

Anyway, I got out last January. Permanently deleted my account on FB and Twitter. It's a shame really, because those platforms, at one time, were all about free speech.

27 posted on 02/09/2022 10:04:55 AM PST by LibertyWoman (The road to tyranny is paved with good intentions)
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To: LibertyWoman

FB will dwindle down into a new version of MySpace........................


28 posted on 02/09/2022 10:06:42 AM PST by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegal aliens are put up in hotels.....................)
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To: Red Badger

Death to Facebook. This would be a good start.


29 posted on 02/09/2022 10:07:56 AM PST by JerseyDvl (During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.)
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To: Lurkinanloomin

I’ve heard that facebook marketplace is replacing a lot of biz that previously went through craigslist.


30 posted on 02/09/2022 10:11:25 AM PST by Rebelbase
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To: Red Badger

It may go, but via VPN use...you could sit in Germany and log on still. Both the EU and Germans think you can cancel it out.

One odd factor, around Germany....there’s probably 500 individuals/influencers on Instagram....who have a significant income (minimum of 5k Euro a month....some on up to 100k Euro a month). They won’t accept the destruction of their ‘careers’.


31 posted on 02/09/2022 10:11:28 AM PST by pepsionice
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To: Red Badger

Sure hope so


32 posted on 02/09/2022 10:25:50 AM PST by LibertyWoman (The road to tyranny is paved with good intentions)
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To: Red Badger

“safeguards against illegal data transfers to non-EU governments”

The US government needs the help of Facebook. This is a matter of US national security.


33 posted on 02/09/2022 10:26:04 AM PST by Brian Griffin
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FB admitted they just passed peak growth. Now, it’s monthly attrition. The same happened to MySpace.


34 posted on 02/09/2022 10:28:07 AM PST by proust (All posts made under this handle are, for the intents and purposes of the author, considered satire.)
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To: Red Badger

Close it here …. Please!


35 posted on 02/09/2022 10:30:27 AM PST by From The Deer Stand
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To: Red Badger

Nothing that enters the Internet should be considered secure.

One out of every 20 foreign-born Chinese persons working in the technology sector probably work for the Chinese government too.

One out of every 200 US-born Chinese persons working in the technology sector probably work for the Chinese government too.

And there always the $$$$$$$ opportunity Beijing can easily afford to offer.

Most foreign-born technology workers would be happy to be a well-paid CEO.


36 posted on 02/09/2022 10:34:02 AM PST by Brian Griffin
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To: Red Badger

Corrupt Democrat facebook scum.


37 posted on 02/09/2022 10:36:37 AM PST by stinkerpot65 (Global warming is a Marxist lie. )
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To: Red Badger

I like the part about the European continent having sovereignty


38 posted on 02/09/2022 10:36:41 AM PST by bigbob
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To: Red Badger

For 10 Euros a month a wide variety of information sources and services could be provided to EU customers.

If the smart ad market is outlawed by the EU, then alternatives must be utilized.


39 posted on 02/09/2022 10:41:24 AM PST by Brian Griffin
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To: Red Badger

YES! I knew the goddamn GDPR would be good for SOMETHING. Stomping a mudhole in Meta is better than imagined.


40 posted on 02/09/2022 10:46:41 AM PST by StAnDeliver (Each of you have at least 1 of these in your 401k: Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, J&J, Merck and GSK)
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