--- title: "Facebook Threatens to Pull Out of Europe Entirely" description: "Facebook has threatened to pull out of Europe after the court banned the transferring of data internationally. Learn more about this ruling." date: "2020-09-22" modified: "2020-09-30" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/facebook-threatens-pull-out-europe-entirely" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "data privacy" - "europe" - "facebook" - "the digest" --- # Facebook Threatens to Pull Out of Europe Entirely ![Following a landmark European court ruling, Facebook is warning that it may pull out of Europe entirely, as The Guardian reports.]() *\Image: Victor Tangermann\* ## Big in Europe Following a landmark European court ruling, Facebook is warning that it may pull out of the continent entirely, [*The Guardian* reports](). In a [July ruling](), European regulators found that the social media company didn't do enough to protect users from surveillance by US intelligence agencies. According to the ruling, social media companies like Facebook would need to stop sending data back to the US — something that is essential for the company to operate, according to Facebook's associate general counsel Yvonne Cunnane. "In the event that \[Facebook\] were subject to a complete suspension of the transfer of users’ data to the US, it is not clear... how, in those circumstances, it could continue to provide the Facebook and Instagram services in the EU," Cunnane argued, as quoted by *The Guardian*. ## Empty Threats A Facebook spokesperson, however, said in a statement to the newspaper that "Facebook is not threatening to withdraw from Europe," adding that "Facebook, and many other businesses, organizations and services, rely on data transfers between the EU and the US in order to operate their services." It's the culmination of a years long court battle. In 2015, [*The Guardian* first revealed]() that the NSA was snooping on European users, while experiencing unfettered access to data from the likes of Google and Facebook. To Facebook, transferring data internationally, including to and from US data centers, is intrinsic to its operation and "fundamental to our daily lives," as Facebook's head of global affairs Nick Clegg argued in [a blog post]() earlier this month. **READ MORE:** [Facebook says it may quit Europe over ban on sharing data with US]() \[*The Guardian*\] **More on Facebook:** *[Oculus CTO Says He’s “Embarrassed” by Facebook’s Handling of VR]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()