5 ms·

Facebook says it will stop operating in Europe if regulators don’t back down

13 points by jmrobles 6y ago

wortelefant 6y ago
either we get to see more privacy in the eu, or less of facebook. I would not mind getting both
- metadatabad 6y ago
  Yep. It's a win-win for the world.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
zepto 6y ago
This is interesting. It’s not obvious to my what leverage Facebook has in this situation. Apple, Google, and Microsoft seem like they all provide goods and services that are hard to replace without a lot of investment. What does Facebook have except for inertia and network effect? These are a good moat against competitors and attrition of individual users, but I don’t see how Facebook isn’t easily replaced if it doesn’t comply.
- nzyat 6y ago
  Facebook (and Whatsapp, and Instagram) has a truckload of users. I think people would get really mad if they were forced to close shop in Europe. (Not sure that rage would lead anywhere, considering how the EU works...)
  - zepto 6y ago
    Sure - people would get mad. I agree. But it seems like they wouldn’t stay mad for long and there wouldn’t be any significant economic impact of them just switching to other services. This is not the same as say if Apple suddenly stopped selling iPhones and Macs or Microsoft stopped providing Azure services.
    - ajharrison 6y ago
      Only EU govs have an axe to grind against Facebook because they have to not make GDPR look like a joke. The end-users, they still want to use Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc. And they will be quiet vocal if those things stop working.
      - zepto 6y ago
        This is an interesting perspective. I had the sense that people in the EU were not very positive about American businesses anymore, but you seem to be suggesting this is overblown.
        ajharrison 6y ago
        It absolutely is. Despite the numerous attempts to #deletefacebook nothing has changed, Facebook now has ~9m advertisers compared to ~4m three years ago. The fact of the matter is that people and businesses rely on Facebook and they won’t have the time or patience for an explanation beyond them from the governments out to get FB.
pacamara619 6y ago
This is one big fat bluff. And if it isn't, the future looks even brighter!
metadatabad 6y ago
And this is a bad thing how?
fito 6y ago
… and nothing of value would be lost.

13 points by jmrobles 6y ago

wortelefant 6y ago

either we get to see more privacy in the eu, or less of facebook. I would not mind getting both

metadatabad 6y ago
Yep. It's a win-win for the world.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

zepto 6y ago

This is interesting. It’s not obvious to my what leverage Facebook has in this situation. Apple, Google, and Microsoft seem like they all provide goods and services that are hard to replace without a lot of investment. What does Facebook have except for inertia and network effect? These are a good moat against competitors and attrition of individual users, but I don’t see how Facebook isn’t easily replaced if it doesn’t comply.

nzyat 6y ago
Facebook (and Whatsapp, and Instagram) has a truckload of users. I think people would get really mad if they were forced to close shop in Europe. (Not sure that rage would lead anywhere, considering how the EU works...)
- zepto 6y ago
  Sure - people would get mad. I agree. But it seems like they wouldn’t stay mad for long and there wouldn’t be any significant economic impact of them just switching to other services. This is not the same as say if Apple suddenly stopped selling iPhones and Macs or Microsoft stopped providing Azure services.
  - ajharrison 6y ago
    Only EU govs have an axe to grind against Facebook because they have to not make GDPR look like a joke. The end-users, they still want to use Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc. And they will be quiet vocal if those things stop working.
    - zepto 6y ago
      This is an interesting perspective. I had the sense that people in the EU were not very positive about American businesses anymore, but you seem to be suggesting this is overblown.
      - ajharrison 6y ago
        It absolutely is. Despite the numerous attempts to #deletefacebook nothing has changed, Facebook now has ~9m advertisers compared to ~4m three years ago. The fact of the matter is that people and businesses rely on Facebook and they won’t have the time or patience for an explanation beyond them from the governments out to get FB.

pacamara619 6y ago

This is one big fat bluff. And if it isn't, the future looks even brighter!

metadatabad 6y ago

And this is a bad thing how?

fito 6y ago

… and nothing of value would be lost.