Meta Threatens To Pull Facebook & Instagram From Europe Over Data Sharing Laws

Meta isn’t happy, and it’s no wonder why. Last week, news broke that the social media giant was losing users for the first time in history alongside a plummet in share prices.

And now, the company is considering pulling Facebook and Instagram from European users. 

In its annual Securities and Exchange Commission report, the company stated that it may need to entirely stop operating Facebook and Instagram due to new legislation by European regulators. 

Meta is essentially prevented, by the new legislation, from using European users’ data across the pond in the US, which “would materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations,” as quoted by CNBC. 

“If we are unable to transfer data between and among countries… or if we are restricted from sharing data among our products and services, it could affect our ability to provide our services, the manner in which we provide our services or our ability to target ads,” the statement reads. 

New agreements are hoped to come about this year, but if that doesn’t happen, the firm will “likely be unable to offer a number of our most significant products and services, including Facebook and Instagram, in Europe.”

Although a spokesperson has told the news outlet that Meta doesn’t have any plans to do so just yet, they noted that the “simple reality” of many businesses, is that they—including Meta itself—rely on “data transfers between the EU and the US in order to operate global services.”

Meta, and Facebook, in particular, have been the subject of numerous privacy scandals, including targeting children as a profit-generating opportunity. 

[via CNBC and Mashable, image via Primakov / Shutterstock.com]