Meta might have to pull prominent services from the European market over new data-processing rules

Meta has just posted a turbulent fourth-quarter report that has led to a market-value wipe-out to the tune of approximately US$200 billion. However, there may be more bad news on the way for its shareholders and stakeholders, as it has also now threatened to all but exit the European market.

The company has noted that it might have to take drastic action that might even see Facebook and Instagram becoming unavailable in Europe over adversity its parent company has encountered from the CJEU and Irish Data Protection Commission (IDPC).

The latter has recently concluded Meta's headquarters in the same country relies too heavily on transferring user data outside of the EU to the US for processing, thereby contravening the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Accordingly, the increasing pressure just might cause Meta to exit that market. On one hand, any negative impact of the social media sites' absence might honestly be questionable at this point. On the other, as the company's VP of Global Affairs, Nick Clegg, asserts, a whole host and range of business types are still hugely reliant on either platform these days.