News

Meta now denies his words and says he is not threatening to leave Europe

if they tell me that Meta communication decisions are the work of Don Ramón del Valle-Inclán, I could only stand up and applaud the posthumous legacy of the father of the grotesque. Although we can also adjective it in other ways. The bad part is that they are too crude to use here. But this time I confess that this is another of those cases in which I do not lack desire to do it, and when you read this news, surely you will think the same.

Either you live on Mars or you had to read, between yesterday and today, that Meta threatened to take Facebook and Instagram from Europe, truth? Our colleagues from MuyComputerPRO promptly reported on it, and both yesterday and today this has been a most recurrent topic of conversation on the networks, with reactions ranging from criticism of Meta for not wanting to adjust to the European legal framework and asking for its modification , to an ocean of jokes and memes proposing a future without Facebook and Instagram.

However, and as we can read today on the company’s blog, Meta denies having threatened to leave Europe. The post is titled “Meta does not threaten at all to leave Europe» and starts strong. I quote verbatim: «There have been reports in the press that we are “threatening” to leave Europe due to uncertainty about data transfer mechanisms between the EU and the US. This is not true

That in the first paragraph. Now, what if, in that same post, we jump to the second one? I reproduce it, again, verbatim:

«We have absolutely no desire to withdraw from Europe; of course not. But the simple reality is that Meta, like many other companies, organizations and services, depends on data transfers between the EU and the US. to operate our global services. We are not alone. At least 70 other companies in a wide range of industries, including ten European companies, have also raised the risks related to data transfers in their earnings statements.»

Put another way, Meta claims that it relies on data transfers between Europe and the United States in order to operate its services. At this point it is important to remember that European Union regulations prohibit this type of movement. The data of European citizens must be processed, compulsorily, on servers that are within the limits of the EU.

Meta now denies his words and says he is not threatening to leave Europe

And so, if Meta hasn’t threatened to leave Europe, Is the media already inventing things? Is this perhaps one more example of the omnipresence of fake news (yes, the kind that Facebook claimed to pursue, but then didn’t seem to pursue as much)? Or perhaps it corresponds to the indiscreet leak of some company employee, who has no official support? Where does that lie come from that Meta claims that we are reproducing the media?

As a US listed company, Meta is legally required to file certain documentation with the SEC, the US regulator responsible for the markets. For example, when a company like Meta presents its results, regardless of whether it does so in a live event, in person or in the Metaverse (it is curious that Meta did not choose its flagship product for this event, right?) , you must submit the necessary documentation to the SEC, which, in turn, makes it publicly available through its website.

And what can we read if we take a look at the Meta documentation made public by the SEC? Well, once again, I quote again, and this time I don’t even translate it, so as not to change a single letter of what the company communicated:

» If a new transatlantic data transfer framework is not adopted and we are unable to continue to rely on SCCs or rely upon other alternative means of data transfers from Europe to the United States, we will likely be unable to offer a number of our most significant products and services, including Facebook and Instagram, in Europewhich would materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.»

And now yes, translated:

«If a new transatlantic data transfer framework is not adopted and we cannot continue to use PPAs or other alternative means of transferring data from Europe to the United States, we may not be able to offer several of our most important products and services, such as Facebook and Instagram, in Europewhich would materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.»

In other words, if the European Union does not modify the data protection rules of its citizens, Meta sees it likely that it will not be able to continue offering services such as Facebook and Instagram in the old continent. And this is the possibility that it raises, not that of adapting to said legal frameworkalthough on the other hand it intends to negotiate a change in these rules, which is totally legitimate.

Meta now denies his words and says he is not threatening to leave Europe

Today I had planned to write defining the affirmation, this Meta affirmation, as a bravado that, surely, would go wrong. I have been surprised to see that they have not even given me time for it. And what she has left me with my mouth open is that affirm that the information that many, many media outlets have given is not true. I am still finishing processing Meta’s claim that the media that we have reproduced the content of the report that the company filed with the SEC has stated something that is not true.

What then was the statement that I have reproduced above, and which comes out of an official Meta document? A measure of pressure? A toast to the sun? A bluff like in poker? We are masters of our silences and slaves of our words. Maybe Meta should understand that, instead of accusing the media of misinformation. And what becomes clearer to me every day is that I fully understand John Pinette, Meta’s former head of public relations, who left the company a month ago. I believe that positions like yours are not paid, not even with all the gold in the world.

I believe that it was clear to all of us, from the beginning, that Meta would not leave Europe, and my personal impression is that they did not expect that paragraph of their presentation of results to be publicly disclosed. And that when verifying that it has not been like that and that half the world has echoed it, now it intends to back down. An attitude that I would understand, for example, in a teenager, but not in a multinational like this one.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *