Meta Platforms Inc. announced yesterday that Facebook and Instagram plan to pull out of Europe. The data protection regulations are too strict for the company.
Mark Zuckerberg is thinking about withdrawing his companies Facebook and Instagram from Europe. He says the data protection regulations in Europe are too strict. Last June, the European Court of Justice declared the "Privacy Shield" agreement invalid. This agreement facilitated the exchange of data between Europe and the United States.
Facebook sees the invalidity of the agreement as a threat, it said in its annual report to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). According to the report, it says that the hurdles in the exchange of data are a threat to the business and thus no longer capable of continuing services in Europe.
However, new opportunities may arise to build new social media platforms in Europe. Facebook and Instagram together account for over 80% of the total market share, which is almost monopolistic. If this 80% now disappears from Europe, then new social media platforms could establish themselves that could care less about consumer data.
