Meta has again threatened to pull Facebook and Instagram from Europe if is not allowed to move user data to America as negotiations between the EU and the US to replace a transatlantic data transfer agreement continue.
Meta said in its annual report last Thursday that it would "likely be unable to offer a number of [its] most significant products and services, including Facebook and Instagram, in Europe" if it is not able to rely on standard contractual clauses for data transfer.
More than 5,000 companies previously used the Privacy Shield deal, which allowed businesses in the EU and US to easily transfer data between the two regions, before the European Court of Justice ruled in 2020 that it did not comply with EU privacy rights.
"We have absolutely no desire and no plans to withdraw from Europe, but the simple reality is that Meta, and many other businesses, organisations and services, rely on data transfers between the EU and the US in order to operate global services,” a Meta spokesman said in an emailed statement.
Shares in Meta fell by more than 25% on Thursday after Facebook's daily active user numbers fell for the first time in its 18-year history and the company warned that it could lose $10bn in 2022 from privacy changes at Apple that will make it harder to track iOS users.
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A European Commission spokesperson said data transfer negotiations with the US have intensified, but they will "take time given also the complexity of the issues discussed and the need to strike a balance between privacy and national security.
"Only an arrangement that is fully compliant with the requirements set by the EU court can deliver the stability and legal certainty stakeholders expect on both sides of the Atlantic."
Privacy campaigner Max Schrems has long pursued Facebook through Irish courts over its transfer of European user data to the US, and the Data Protection Commission made a preliminary decision that the company may have to halt transatlantic data transfer using standard contractual clauses.
The High Court ruled against Facebook Ireland last May when it challenged the DPC's decision, saying the company had failed to establish "any basis" for calling the regulator's findings into question.
Meta warned in its previous annual report that it would be "unable to operate" parts of its business in Europe without the use of standard contractual clauses.
The company also threatened to block Australian publishers from sharing news on Facebook over laws designed to force internet giants to pay media publications for their articles.
Images: Mark Zuckerberg: Getty Images
