It seems that Meta has made a bluff with its “warning” of a possible abandonment of Facebook and Instagram in Europe, having now rushed to deny what we could all read in its own manifesto.
The growing measures of the European Union in favor of the privacy of its citizens’ data collides head-on with Meta’s practices in its main services. This led to the suggestion of a possible abandonment by Europe of services such as Instagram or Facebook, something that has now been denied in a statement in the facebook blog under the explicit title of «Meta does not threaten at all to leave Europe«.
–
In said post, Markus Reinisch, Vice President of Public Policies for Europe of Facebook, states that in the last report only uncertainty about data transfer mechanisms was discussed, but that at no time was there any intention or threat of leaving Europe.
It has been reported in the press that we are ‘threatening’ to leave Europe due to uncertainty about data transfer mechanisms between the EU and the US. That’s not true. Like all publicly traded companies, we are legally required to disclose material risks to our investors. Last week, as we have done in our previous four financial quarters, we disclosed that continued uncertainty over data transfer mechanisms between the EU and the United States poses a threat to our ability to serve European consumers and operate our business in Europe.
We have absolutely no desire to withdraw from Europe; of course not. But the simple reality is that Meta, like many other companies, organizations and services, relies on data transfers between the EU and the United States to operate our global services. We are not alone. At least 70 other companies from a wide range of industries, including ten European companies, have also raised the risks around data transfers in their earnings filings.
In Spain we have a saying “Where I said Digo, I said Diego”, something that seems to have been applied by Facebook in what appears to be a mess of the company that it now claims never existed. Be that as it may, both documents are accessible to everyone, so the best thing is for everyone to make up their own minds and interpret what was said or meant.
–
