Meta Pledges to Remain in Europe

Meta says it’s “absolutely not” leaving Europe over European Union-U.S. data transfers, refuting reports in the press, according to a company blog post published Tuesday (Feb. 8).

“Like all publicly-traded companies, we are legally required to disclose material risks to our investors,” the company wrote. “Last week, as we have done in our previous four financial quarters, we disclosed that continuing uncertainty over EU-U.S. data transfers mechanisms poses a threat to our ability to serve European consumers and operate our business in Europe.”

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, said it doesn’t want to withdraw from Europe. However, it said that the company does rely on data transfers between the EU and the U.S. in order to operate global services, a trait which it shares with around 70 other companies in various industries.

The blog notes that the legal framework around transferring data has seen disruption, with the Safe Harbour Agreement struck down by the European Court of Justice in 2015, and Privacy Shield, used by thousands of companies, struck down last year.

“These decisions have been made based on a conflict between EU and U.S. laws over the protection of data,” the blog post continued. “We want to see the fundamental rights of EU users protected, and we want the internet to continue to operate as it was intended: without friction, in compliance with applicable laws — but not confined by national borders.”

Meta says it hopes to see clear rules across the globe to protect data flows.

The ultimate goals, it says, should be continued progress in negotiations for a Privacy Shield replacement to help protect data transfers and privacy, along with keeping people connected.

Meta also recently filed a lawsuit over a phishing scam, targeting two individuals from Nigeria who they say have been doing this for some time.

See also: Meta Files Lawsuit Over Financial Services Phishing Scam

There had been several previous attempts to remedy the situation, including banning those individuals from the social media sites and blocking various domains, along with a cease and desist.