Social networking apps owned by Meta, like as Facebook and Instagram, could be banned in the UK and across Europe.
Following a disagreement with Europe over data protection rules, Mark Zuckerberg has threatened to yank “key services” from the continent.
Meta has quietly issued a warning that if Europe does not allow it to execute “transatlantic data transfers,” it will be forced to shut down its services.
This means transferring people’s private data from secure servers in Europe, where they are heavily regulated, to the US.
In an annual report to a US government agency, Meta said that the company will “probably” have to stop offering its “most significant products and services” if a new framework is not adopted.
While Meta claims that sharing data between countries and regions is critical to providing its services, the European Court of Justice has prevented it from doing so since July 2020.
This is largely to protect users across Europe from having their data shared or sold without their knowledge.