Mark Zuckerberg given blunt warning by France over threat to shut down Facebook in Europe

dailystar.co.uk:

Facebook.Earlier this week Meta (formerly Facebook) quietly issued a warning saying that it could shut down the services if Europe doesn't let it perform "transatlantic data transfers".In an annual report to a US government agency, Meta said that the company will "probably" have to stop offering its "most significant products and services" if a new framework is not adopted.After German leaders responded to the Facebook warning by essentially telling Zuckerberg to bring it on, a French minister has weighed in with some tough love for the Meta billionaire.French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said that life would be 'very good' without Facebook and that the EU will stand up to tech companies: “Digital giants must understand that the European continent will resist and affirm its sovereignty.”This followed comments from Le Maire's German counterpart, Robert Habeck, who said “After I was hacked I have lived without Facebook and Twitter for four years and life has been fantastic."The report in question said that a new transatlantic data transfer framework for Europe to the United States must be adopted, and if it isn't, Meta "will likely be unable to offer a number of our most significant products and services, including Facebook and Instagram, in Europe."A spokesperson for Meta said: “We have absolutely no desire and no plans to withdraw from Europe, but the simple reality is that Meta, and many other businesses, organisations and services, rely on data transfers between the EU and the US in order to operate global services."Like other companies, we have followed European rules and rely on Standard Contractual Clauses, and appropriate data safeguards, to operate a global service."They added: "Fundamentally, businesses need.