Facebook will shift all its users to the United Kingdom under the user agreements that apply in the US, moving them away from their current relationship with Facebook's Irish unit and away from European privacy laws.
The change will come into effect next year and is similar to a move made by Google in February. These companies, like many others, have their European headquarters in Dublin, and the UK's exit from the EU will change its legal relationship with Ireland, which remains in the European Union.
Initially, Reuters sources were informed of this move and a short while later Facebook confirmed it.
“Like other companies, Facebook has had to make changes to respond to Brexit and will be transferring legal responsibilities and obligations for UK users from Facebook Ireland to Facebook Inc. There will be no change to the privacy controls or services Facebook offers to people living in the UK,” a spokesperson for the company in the UK said.
Facebook users in the United Kingdom will continue to be subject to UK privacy laws, which currently follow the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Facebook is making the change because the EU’s privacy regime is among the strictest in the world, people familiar with the company ’s decisions said . The EU rules give users detailed control over their data
Privacy advocates fear that the UK could move to an even looser data privacy regime, especially as it seeks a trade deal with the United States, which offers far fewer privacy protections. Some also worry that UK Facebook users could be more easily subject to surveillance by US intelligence agencies
Facebook will notify users of the shift over the next six months, giving them the option to stop using the world's largest social network and its Instagram and WhatsApp.
Facebook's decision comes as the United Kingdom steps up efforts to ban strong encryption, which Facebook plans to implement across products . The UK, like the European Union, is pressuring Facebook on a number of other fronts, including hate speech and terrorism policies.
The United States may also pursue new laws on privacy and social media content , while federal and state prosecutors recently launched antitrust lawsuits against Facebook and Google. However, tech lobbyists expect US tech regulations to remain more industry- friendly than those in the UK.
Source of information: theguardian.com
