Politico: Facebook and Instagram may go offline in EU this summer

Facebook and Instagram may go offline in the European Union this summer, political site Politico concludes. The Irish data regulator has sent a proposal to other regulators to block Meta from forwarding data to the US.

The forwarding of data from Facebook and Instagram to the US is possible against European regulations, writes Politico. The Irish Data Protection Commission has sent the proposal to block the transit of data to the US to all other European regulators. They now have a month to give their input.

If the regulators force Meta to stop storing European user data on American servers, it probably means that Facebook and Instagram in Europe will go offline. That’s what Meta herself said a few months ago. It remains to be seen whether that actually happens if the supervisors stick to the proposed blockade. The company said in February it had no intention of leaving Europe. It is unclear whether WhatsApp would continue to function.

In the meantime, the regulations for exchanging data between Europe and the US are already advanced. The previous Privacy Shield was pierced and fired by the European court in 2020. The thorny issue was the way in which the US handles the protection of personal data and how its surveillance plays a role in this. The question is exactly what Privacy Shield 2.0 will look like and whether judges will agree to it.