Meta threatens to stop offering Instagram and Facebook in EU countries if the European Commission proposes its stricter data protection rules. Under the new law, companies must process the data of Europeans in the EU.
Stricter EU rules
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is concerned about a new European law to protect the data of residents in the EU. Last week, ideas from the so-called ‘Data Act’ were leaked by Reuters† All data of EU citizens can only be processed on European servers.
Today, the so-called GDPR rules in the EU allow companies to process that data outside our continent, as long as they adhere to European rules. However, that is no longer sufficient for the EU because certain rules in countries such as the US undermine the GDPR. In the US, for example, the law states that intelligence services must always have access to data processed in the US.
Meta threatens
Although the Data Act is not expected to be shown until February 23, Meta is not giving up. If these rules come into effect, the company threatens to remove Instagram and Facebook from EU countries, the company writes in a statement report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. When Meta can no longer exchange data between countries and regions or between its different services, it will disrupt the functioning of Meta’s services and the way targeted advertising works.
Of course it doesn’t have to be that fast, because even if the Data Act is proposed at the end of this month, it will be years before it comes into effect. There is also room for negotiation, but it seems that Meta mainly wants to take a strong negotiating position with these threats.
Worth hundreds of billions less
In reality, it would be disastrous for CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s company if it were forced to withdraw from 27 European countries. Facebook recently saw its number of active users decline for the first time, and as a result, its share price plunged sharply. In one day, Meta was worth literally hundreds of billions less.
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– Thanks for information from Androidworld. Source