Are Facebook and Instagram about to go out of business in Europe?

Are Facebook and Instagram about to go out of business in Europe?

The digital group called Meta recently reported plans for Instagram and Facebook services to close in Europe. This actually only refers to Europe. For many users, the question is whether these predictions are actually true or not.

The parent company of WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook is called Meta, this group is in crisis at the moment. It has recently become known that Facebook has recently lost a lot of active users. There are warnings of another scenario of horror. Meta's annual report has shown that it will probably not be profitable to operate Instagram and Facebook in Europe for much longer.

These reasons are behind it

Basically, it is once again about the data of users from Europe, which may or may not be processed in the USA servers. It is possible that there will be an agreement for a strictly regulated data transfer between the US and Europe. But if the European Court of Justice has its way, things look bleak as far as such an agreement is concerned. In the European Union, Facebook data in particular is coming under increasing pressure, and soon there will be agreements that may be overturned.

That's why Meta warns

If this existing legal framework suddenly disappears, some important services and products can no longer be offered in Europe. This also includes Instagram and Facebook. Global data transfer is still a major risk for the operator.

This is what it looks like for users

However, no one who is on Instagram or Facebook has to worry at the moment; access to the platforms is still possible. Alleged shutdown plans are discussed again and again, but they only refer to hypotheses and warnings from uncertain sources. Facebook has often speculated about a withdrawal from Europe, but it has never happened yet.

Mark Zuckerberg goes on the offensive

Because of various court rulings, Mark Zuckerberg is now going particularly strongly on the offensive. In fact, he thinks that the end of Instagram and Facebook in Europe could be a plausible idea for the future. The dispute over data transfers between the USA and Europe seems to have no end. Although an agreement was reached in 2016, the future remains uncertain. Indeed, current agreements have been repeatedly declared invalid by the European Court of Justice in recent years. The issue always revolves around the fact that personal data may no longer be processed in the USA without prior verification.