People are so involved in Facebook and Instagram that they cannot imagine a life without these platforms in today’s generation. Unfortunately, people in European countries might have to live without social media. A recent report shows that Meta could shut down Facebook and Instagram in Europe. But why?
At first, Meta was reportedly the worst company of 2021 due to many grievances. After rebranding its name to Meta, the company faced plenty of issues one after another. Besides, Facebook lost 1 million active users due to their privacy policies. Therefore, Meta’s stock value dropped with a $200 billion decrease in its market value.
According to a recent annual report, Meta might have to shut down its most popular social platforms, Facebook and Instagram, in Europe.
Meta to Shut Down Facebook & Instagram in Europe?
Recently, Meta submitted an annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission. It was a direct threat to shut down Facebook & Instagram in Europe as it could not transfer the user data back to the U.S. This policy was rejected by the European Union regulation, which immediately frustrated Meta.
Therefore, Meta issued a warning to shut down Facebook in Europe. This is not the first time Facebook has taken advantage of its services. In 2020, the company warned Australian publishers to block users from sharing news. It seems that the company loves to take advantage as plenty of users have to rely on their platforms.
Earlier, the European Union accepted the Meta policy to store European users’ information on the USA-based servers. But EU changed this agreement using the EU-US Privacy Shield. Due to privacy issues, this agreement was already proclaimed invalid. However, European Union changed this agreement.
The EU warned the USA companies to store European users’ information on Europe-based servers. The conflict between the two countries grew when Meta threatened to shut down Facebook in Europe if they did not follow the agreements as per their terms. According to Meta, the transatlantic data transfer framework is necessary for Ad promotions and censorious operations.
If the EU rejects this agreement and uses the privacy shield, Meta would not rely on SCCs (standard contractual clauses). Additionally, this might also affect the financial conditions and the overall business. Meta wants to shake hands with the EU and make a mutual decision. This is essential as, without Facebook and Instagram, plenty of European companies would suffer.
