Meta threatens to pull Facebook and Instagram from Europe over data transfer row

Meta threatened to pull Facebook and Instagram from Europe if Brussels blocked its ability to send user data to the US.

Its threat followed a ruling from the European Court of Justice in July 2020 that the previous Privacy Shield agreement with Washington was invalid.

"If a new transatlantic data transfer framework is not adopted and we are unable to continue to rely on [Standard Contractual Clauses] or rely upon other alternative means of data transfers from Europe to the United States, we will likely be unable to offer a number of our most significant products and services, including Facebook and Instagram, in Europe, which would materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations," Meta said in its annual report published on 3 February.

In remarks to Bloomberg, a spokesman for the European Commission said that talks with the US had intensified, but they "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."

A final decision on whether using SCCs to process European data broke EU GDPR rules was expected in the first half of 2022.