HIGHLIGHTS
- DPC will most likely complete nine or ten of the 30 open probes.
- WhatsApp is exempt from the order.
- Within the Meta group, WhatsApp has a distinct data controller.
EU-US data transfers by Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram might be suspended as early as May, but the action would not affect other major internet firms immediately, according to Ireland's data protection authority in an interview.
Due to worries that US government monitoring may violate EU residents' privacy rights, Europe's top court declared in 2020 that an EU-US data sharing treaty was unlawful.
As a result, Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC), Meta's principal European regulator, issued a preliminary decision stating that the mechanism used by Facebook and Instagram to transfer data from European Union users to the United States "cannot be used in practise."
According to an interview with Ireland's data protection regulator, EU-US data transfers by Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram might be blocked as early as May, but the measure would not affect other large internet corporations immediately.
Due to concerns that US government monitoring might infringe on EU citizens' privacy rights, Europe's highest court ruled in 2020 that an EU-US data-sharing accord was unconstitutional.
As a consequence, Meta's primary European regulator, Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC), issued a preliminary judgement declaring that the method utilised by Facebook and Instagram to transfer data from European Union users to the United States "cannot be used in practise."
However, there is no possibility that the investigation will result in an automatic suspension of similar data flows at Meta's big competitors, many of whom also have European headquarters in Ireland.
"The final judgement that the DPC will make in regard to Facebook will be exclusive to Facebook and directed specifically to Facebook," Dixon added.
"As a result of the CJEU (Court of Justice of the European Union) ruling, we are unable to reach a larger and more comprehensive conclusion. We'll have to go company by company "She stated.
Dixon noted that "hundreds of thousands of organisations" would likely have to be investigated, beginning with other significant online platforms.
Without a new transatlantic data transfer framework, Meta will likely be unable to offer important services such as Facebook and Instagram in Europe.
The US Commerce Department and the EU Commission are engaged in a parallel political process on such remedies, but the Irish regulator has not been kept up to date.
Dixon's agency has only concluded two investigations of big corporations under new EU privacy standards enacted in 2018, including fining WhatsApp EUR 225 million (approximately Rs. 1,900 crore) last year.
The DPC is expected to conclude nine or ten of the 30 open inquiries by 2022, Dixon said, a speed she ascribed to nearly tripling its workforce in three years and would serve as a response to critics who claim her agency is under-resourced to deal with the massive workload.
Staffing is expected to expand to 260 by the end of 2022, up from 195 now and just 27 in 2014, but will need to rise for "years to come," according to Dixon.
