Meta, the parent company of the social networks "Facebook" and "Instagram", has threatened in recent days that it is considering closing its operations in Europe if it cannot continue to transfer the data of European users back to the US.
The warning was published in its annual report last Thursday, against the background of new legislation being prepared in Europe that will change the way users' data of EU citizens is transferred outside it.
Currently, Meta and other companies use SCC (Standard Contracts) to transfer data between the EU and the US, Meta's concern is that if SCC can not be used as a legal basis for data transfer, Facebook will have to eliminate most of the data it has collected on European users.In addition, the company will risk a fine of up to 4% of its annual revenue, or $ 2.8 billion if it does not meet the new requirements.
Meta Introduces "The World's Most Advanced Supercomputer" // Photo: Meta
In July 2020, the European Court of Justice ruled that the data transfer standard between the EU and the US does not properly protect the privacy of European citizens. The court restricted the way American companies can send data from European users to the US An effective way to oppose US government surveillance of them.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, in August of that year, the Irish Defense Commission sent Facebook a preliminary order requiring it to stop transferring user data from the EU to the US. Nick Clegg, Facebook's vice president of global affairs and communications, confirmed The publication said that "the Irish Commission for the Protection of Information has begun an investigation into data transfers from the EU to the US controlled by Facebook".
Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp., Photo: IPI
EU legislator Axel Wes, who previously wrote part of EU data protection laws, tweeted in response: "Meta can not simply blackmail the EU into giving up its data protection standards. Leaving the EU will be their loss. The simple reality is that meta, businesses, organizations And many other services, rely on data transfer between the EU and the US "to run global services".
Facebook responded: "Unless a new framework for transatlantic data adoption is adopted and we can no longer rely on standard contractual clauses or rely on other alternative means of data transfer from Europe to the US, we will likely not be able to offer some of our most significant products and services, including Facebook And Instagram, in Europe. "
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