On Tuesday, the company shared a blog post saying that it has “absolutely no desire to withdraw from Europe.” Uncertainty over replacing the old transatlantic privacy agreement between the United States and European Union was cited as the reason for the possible withdrawal of Facebook and Instagram from Europe. Meta said that it couldn’t rely on other mechanisms. “Meta is not wanting or “threatening” to leave Europe, and any reporting that implies we do is simply not true. Much like 70 other EU and US companies, we are identifying a business risk resulting from uncertainty around international data transfers.” Meta noted in its announcement. Of course, the roots of these rumors go back to Meta’s earnings report. Meta says that if the US and European Union fail to reach a new agreement on data transfer, the company “likely be unable to offer a number of our most significant products and services, including Facebook and Instagram, in Europe.” This is not the first time Meta has threatened to leave the European market. However, this time, the company is explicitly naming Facebook and Instagram.
Meta won’t leave Europe but might change its plans
To clarify the issue between Meta and the European Union, let’s refer to the Safe Harbour Agreement and Privacy Shield. The agreements regulated data exchange between the United States of America and the European Union (and Switzerland). Both agreements have been overturned by the European Court of Justice over fears of processing the data of EU citizens in US servers. In recent years, meta has faced many lawsuits in the European market, forcing it to spend billions of dollars on settling them. Just recently, the French data regulator CNIL forced Meta to pay $68 million in fines over privacy law violations. The CNIL says that Meta, besides Google, restricted users in France from rejecting cookie tracking technology. The departure of Facebook and Instagram from Europe may worry users, but European lawmakers seem to welcome the move. “I can confirm that life is very good without Facebook and that we would live very well without Facebook,” said French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire. “Digital giants must understand that the European continent will resist and affirm its sovereignty.” He added.
