EU official: 'Life is better without Facebook'

 EU official: 'Life is better without Facebook'

Before the news that Meta threatened to withdraw from Europe, the German Economy Minister affirmed that he would not give in and believe that life would be better without Facebook.

"I've been without Facebook for four years and life has been wonderful. The European Union is an internal market with so many large economies that, if we act together, we won't be threatened by things like that. like this," Robert Habeck, German Economy Minister, commented on the news that Meta said they might have to close Facebook and Instagram in Europe.

Meanwhile, Bruno Le Maire, French Finance Minister, also affirmed that the EU will fight privacy violations and assert its sovereignty. "I can be sure life would be very good without Facebook," he said.

Both officials stressed that Meta will have to comply with new EU regulations, or else the company's social media platforms will be banned across Europe.

Robert Habeck (German Economy Minister) and Bruno Le Maire (France Finance Minister)

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck (left) and French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire. Photo: AFP

Habeck and Le Maire's tough comments come just a day after Meta submitted its annual report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, the company is concerned that European law may require user data to be stored and processed only on servers located here, seriously affecting the operations of Facebook and Instagram.

In August 2020, Meta received a draft from the Irish Data Protection Commission (IDPC), which stated that the transfer of Meta's data between the US and Europe was a violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). . Although it is still a draft, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram is still concerned that the final decision could be issued in the first half of 2022.

The European Commission has a list of Standard Clauses of Contract (SCC) relating to international data transmission. In the event the new regulatory framework is enacted, Meta cannot continue to offer its social networking products here, including Facebook and Instagram. "They will have a material and detrimental impact on the company's business and financial position," the Meta report reads.