The latest evidence here is that, in the midst of an ongoing joust with regulators over data privacy in Europe, Meta might shutter Facebook and Instagram in the region, reported PYMNTS.
In its annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company said in its risk factor discussion that “if we are unable to transfer data between and among countries and regions in which we operate, or if we are restricted from sharing data among our products and services, it could affect our ability to provide our services,” and negatively impact financial results.
Specifically, the company said, the Privacy Shield, a transfer framework the company has relied upon for data transferred from the European Union to the United States, was invalidated in July 2020 by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). In addition, the sequent month, in August 2020, the Irish Data Protection Commission (IDPC) handed down a preliminary decision that Ireland’s reliance on standard contractual clauses (SCCs) is not in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — and that data transfers between the EU and the U.S. should be suspended.
A final decision on the matter — Meta Platforms Ireland had challenged the inquiry — is expected during the first half of this year. If there’s not a new framework in the offing, Meta said it might be “unable” to continue to offer Facebook and Instagram in Europe.
The same filing noted that Meta garnered $8.3 billion in revenues in the most recent quarter, out of $33.7 billion in total top line for the period. So, we can see that Europe represents a significant slice of the revenue pie.
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