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I doubt this would end well for the EU if it actually got banned. Social media platforms like FB, Instagram, TikTok..., are too ingrained in people's daily live

I doubt this would end well for the EU if it actually got banned. Social media platforms like FB, Instagram, TikTok..., are too ingrained in people's daily lives for them to just accept it without causing a massive backlash for politicians (who likely also use it, as well as their families). Not to mention WhatsApp is used by a lot of mid-sized companies as a method of rapid communication (for whatever weird reason), as well as small local businesses that rely on it to directly communicate with their customers (the same type that uses gmail for businesses purposes). And just used in general by everyone is most of the EU region.

bamboozled 4y ago
“Without a massive backlash?” I’d actually be surprised if this was true. I’m probably addicted to scrolling social media. I’m tired of it. If it was forcibly removed from my life and there was no social pressure for me to use it. I’d be happy. I’m sure I’m not alone.
- unicornporn 4y ago
  You're not. :)
- ribosometronome 4y ago
  Plenty of people would say the same of something like alcohol. Outright banning it tends to be relatively unpopular though. That said, this is pretty different since you'd just get social pressure to move to an EU alternative.
  - mr_toad 4y ago
    Unlike alcohol there are substitutes. If Facebook was banned, people would just use the next social network.
    - goatlover 4y ago
      They would all move to the same one, including restaurants, events, meetings, etc? Everyone's older family members included? Sounds like it would be disruptive.
- baby 4y ago
  Come on, I would lose contact with most of my friends if facebook is banned in Europe. Let's stop being obtuse and ignore the fact that there are actual users of the product.
  - oliwarner 4y ago
    And if you were told it would be banned next month, you'd all find another way to contact each other. You'd congregate around something in much the same way you did around WhatsApp and Facebook, way back when. It would be inconvenient for many people to migrate but let's stop being obtuse and ignore the fact that there are alternatives that comply with local laws.
    - jeroenhd 4y ago
      There's a real risk for communities, though. A group of communities currently on Facebook may see their members flee to several independent alternatives, which will kill any cross-group participation. That stuff has the ability to break communities which may never grow back in the same form. I'd much rather see Facebook and Whatsapp follow the law than see the general population get an even worse feeling about data privacy laws. Banning these platforms plays right into the books of the tech giants.
      - oliwarner 4y ago
        I'd prefer compliance and I think Meta would too. On potential societal damage, we already risk so much by being beholden to a few private companies rather than a protocol. Meta could turn off Facebook or major features overnight without warning. Governments should do everything they can to encourage diversity of providers.
    - baby 4y ago
  - 202206241203 4y ago
    If it all relies on Facebook, are the friendships even there?
difosfor 4y ago
I don't know.. I'd hope enough of us value their privacy to be able to support this. I'd sooner expect Facebook to give in and just process their European data in Europe.
chmod775 4y ago
Probably depends on where. Here in Germany I suspect it would be mostly met with shrugs and "good riddance". Sure there would be some teenage tears, but that's to be expected. >Not to mention WhatsApp is used by a lot of mid-sized companies as a method of rapid communication They'll move to something else within a day, while regular people will need two. All this stuff is easy and fast to replace - and it will be replaced almost literally over night. It has happened to messaging services and social networks in the past, and it will again. MSN and ICQ disappeared incredibly fast, as did social networks like schülerVZ/studiVZ/meinVZ in Germany.
- ajsnigrutin 4y ago
  Yep... the tragedy would be if only you got banned from facebook/google... but when all your friends get banned, they/we all move together to a new platform (and let's be fair, most of us europeans have most of our friends nearby, within the EU, and the ones outside have a lot of EU friends too). So yeah... a few weeks of panic, and everyone would be using "something else".
jeroenhd 4y ago
I can't visit Truth.social because I'm not in the USA. Not that I'd want to, but still. I haven't heard too much backlash yet. Banning these services won't deter people from using them, though. I think those 4% worldwide revenue fines will be much more useful for getting those companies to comply than a hard block.
- UncleEntity 4y ago
  > I think those 4% worldwide revenue fines will be much more useful for getting those companies to comply than a hard block. I can guarantee you that no corporation on the planet is going to pay 4% of their global revenue without the EU member states sending troops in to enforce the court ruling.
  - Aeolun 4y ago
    Then that’s tantamount to banning the company because all their assets in the EU would be liquidated.
    - UncleEntity 4y ago
      Yep, this is how trade wars are started.
  - chmod775 4y ago
    Google got fined ~3.5% ($5b) of their global revenue by the EU in 2018. I didn't see any troops. Granted, they're still fighting that one in court.[1] It's not looking good for them though, with courts already having upheld another $2.8b fine against them (from 2017). Also note that "not paying" a fine is not really an option if you have business in the EU or countries friendly with them. They will quite literally just take it out of your accounts in the end. If you don't wish to have your business disrupted by that, you better pay before that happens. [1] https://www.businessinsider.com/google-faces-eu-in-court-over-5-billion-android-fine-2021-9 https://www.businessinsider.com/google-faces-eu-in-court-ove...
mc32 4y ago
I think there would be some backlash from users -especially youngsters, but adults have bigger issues they’re facing in the EU: economy, inflation, jobs losses, war. That said, how can people, except for those up to 30, have survived up until 20 years ago without this and then suddenly feel great loss without it? There are alternative methods of communication. Granted they’re distributed…
- root_axis 4y ago
  > That said, how can people, except for those up to 30, have survived up until 20 years ago without this and then suddenly feel great loss without it? Addiction. It's not uncommon even on HN to see social media compared to running water.
  - mc32 4y ago
    You got a good point there.
  - gls2ro 4y ago
    They are compared, but not the same. It is a metaphor but not a good one: Cut access to social media to someone and maybe they will get angry for a short period of time and then they will move on. Cut access to water and people will get angry and then if the situation continues they will get angrier and in the end you will have protests.
csydas 4y ago
I actually don't think it's as ingrained as people make it out to be; it certainly _was_ present at a time, but poking around on various Google Maps entries for restaurants and shops that come up checking in various EU cities, while a lot of them do have Facebook pages as their sites, the pages are mostly abandoned. COVID likely helped with this (can't help but notice quite a few have last posts around or just before 2020), but even before that you can see it's slowing. Regarding WhatsApp, it should be pointed out that the article addresses this and suggests WhatsApp likely wouldn't be affected immediately as it has a different data controller (GDPR term I believe). But even if Whatsapp were on the chopping block, most hotels/hostels/other businesses I've worked with in the small to medium size have multiple chat apps they list (WhatsApp, Viber, Instagram, and more rarely, Telegram) so I suppose such businesses would be quite okay and at worst would just have a mild annoyance. As an aside, I'm not sure I know of people who are actually big fans of WhatsApp so much so as it's just sort of what you use cause back in the day, it's what you used for international calls. There are a lot of alternatives now that are pretty solid with actual fanbases for the products; anecdotally, I don't think I know anyone that actually _likes_ using WhatsApp, it's more just something they use. Feature wise, WhatsApp feels very aged and has not really kept up with competing applications. All in all I think it wouldn't be such a big deal, and if there were a ban, I do think it would probably be okay in the long run for most people; the communities would adjust (as they always do) and there are _plenty_ of alternatives.
libertine 4y ago
Maybe a couple of weeks of turmoil but in the end people would adjust to it, like they always do.
bvoq 4y ago
There are more than enough tech-savy interested startups that would love to fill the void left by Meta, Instagram, TikTok & co. I would not be surprised if social media becomes state-operated infrastructure at some point, as it is so crucial to everyone. Social media without ads paid by taxes.

bamboozled 4y ago

“Without a massive backlash?” I’d actually be surprised if this was true. I’m probably addicted to scrolling social media. I’m tired of it. If it was forcibly removed from my life and there was no social pressure for me to use it. I’d be happy. I’m sure I’m not alone.

unicornporn 4y ago
You're not. :)
ribosometronome 4y ago
Plenty of people would say the same of something like alcohol. Outright banning it tends to be relatively unpopular though. That said, this is pretty different since you'd just get social pressure to move to an EU alternative.
- mr_toad 4y ago
  Unlike alcohol there are substitutes. If Facebook was banned, people would just use the next social network.
  - goatlover 4y ago
    They would all move to the same one, including restaurants, events, meetings, etc? Everyone's older family members included? Sounds like it would be disruptive.
baby 4y ago
Come on, I would lose contact with most of my friends if facebook is banned in Europe. Let's stop being obtuse and ignore the fact that there are actual users of the product.
- oliwarner 4y ago
  And if you were told it would be banned next month, you'd all find another way to contact each other. You'd congregate around something in much the same way you did around WhatsApp and Facebook, way back when. It would be inconvenient for many people to migrate but let's stop being obtuse and ignore the fact that there are alternatives that comply with local laws.
  - jeroenhd 4y ago
    There's a real risk for communities, though. A group of communities currently on Facebook may see their members flee to several independent alternatives, which will kill any cross-group participation. That stuff has the ability to break communities which may never grow back in the same form. I'd much rather see Facebook and Whatsapp follow the law than see the general population get an even worse feeling about data privacy laws. Banning these platforms plays right into the books of the tech giants.
    - oliwarner 4y ago
      I'd prefer compliance and I think Meta would too. On potential societal damage, we already risk so much by being beholden to a few private companies rather than a protocol. Meta could turn off Facebook or major features overnight without warning. Governments should do everything they can to encourage diversity of providers.
  - baby 4y ago
- 202206241203 4y ago
  If it all relies on Facebook, are the friendships even there?

difosfor 4y ago

I don't know.. I'd hope enough of us value their privacy to be able to support this. I'd sooner expect Facebook to give in and just process their European data in Europe.

chmod775 4y ago

Probably depends on where. Here in Germany I suspect it would be mostly met with shrugs and "good riddance". Sure there would be some teenage tears, but that's to be expected. >Not to mention WhatsApp is used by a lot of mid-sized companies as a method of rapid communication They'll move to something else within a day, while regular people will need two. All this stuff is easy and fast to replace - and it will be replaced almost literally over night. It has happened to messaging services and social networks in the past, and it will again. MSN and ICQ disappeared incredibly fast, as did social networks like schülerVZ/studiVZ/meinVZ in Germany.

ajsnigrutin 4y ago
Yep... the tragedy would be if only you got banned from facebook/google... but when all your friends get banned, they/we all move together to a new platform (and let's be fair, most of us europeans have most of our friends nearby, within the EU, and the ones outside have a lot of EU friends too). So yeah... a few weeks of panic, and everyone would be using "something else".

jeroenhd 4y ago

I can't visit Truth.social because I'm not in the USA. Not that I'd want to, but still. I haven't heard too much backlash yet. Banning these services won't deter people from using them, though. I think those 4% worldwide revenue fines will be much more useful for getting those companies to comply than a hard block.

UncleEntity 4y ago
> I think those 4% worldwide revenue fines will be much more useful for getting those companies to comply than a hard block. I can guarantee you that no corporation on the planet is going to pay 4% of their global revenue without the EU member states sending troops in to enforce the court ruling.
- Aeolun 4y ago
  Then that’s tantamount to banning the company because all their assets in the EU would be liquidated.
  - UncleEntity 4y ago
    Yep, this is how trade wars are started.
- chmod775 4y ago
  Google got fined ~3.5% ($5b) of their global revenue by the EU in 2018. I didn't see any troops. Granted, they're still fighting that one in court.[1] It's not looking good for them though, with courts already having upheld another $2.8b fine against them (from 2017). Also note that "not paying" a fine is not really an option if you have business in the EU or countries friendly with them. They will quite literally just take it out of your accounts in the end. If you don't wish to have your business disrupted by that, you better pay before that happens. [1] https://www.businessinsider.com/google-faces-eu-in-court-over-5-billion-android-fine-2021-9 https://www.businessinsider.com/google-faces-eu-in-court-ove...

mc32 4y ago

I think there would be some backlash from users -especially youngsters, but adults have bigger issues they’re facing in the EU: economy, inflation, jobs losses, war. That said, how can people, except for those up to 30, have survived up until 20 years ago without this and then suddenly feel great loss without it? There are alternative methods of communication. Granted they’re distributed…

root_axis 4y ago
> That said, how can people, except for those up to 30, have survived up until 20 years ago without this and then suddenly feel great loss without it? Addiction. It's not uncommon even on HN to see social media compared to running water.
- mc32 4y ago
  You got a good point there.
- gls2ro 4y ago
  They are compared, but not the same. It is a metaphor but not a good one: Cut access to social media to someone and maybe they will get angry for a short period of time and then they will move on. Cut access to water and people will get angry and then if the situation continues they will get angrier and in the end you will have protests.

csydas 4y ago

I actually don't think it's as ingrained as people make it out to be; it certainly _was_ present at a time, but poking around on various Google Maps entries for restaurants and shops that come up checking in various EU cities, while a lot of them do have Facebook pages as their sites, the pages are mostly abandoned. COVID likely helped with this (can't help but notice quite a few have last posts around or just before 2020), but even before that you can see it's slowing. Regarding WhatsApp, it should be pointed out that the article addresses this and suggests WhatsApp likely wouldn't be affected immediately as it has a different data controller (GDPR term I believe). But even if Whatsapp were on the chopping block, most hotels/hostels/other businesses I've worked with in the small to medium size have multiple chat apps they list (WhatsApp, Viber, Instagram, and more rarely, Telegram) so I suppose such businesses would be quite okay and at worst would just have a mild annoyance. As an aside, I'm not sure I know of people who are actually big fans of WhatsApp so much so as it's just sort of what you use cause back in the day, it's what you used for international calls. There are a lot of alternatives now that are pretty solid with actual fanbases for the products; anecdotally, I don't think I know anyone that actually _likes_ using WhatsApp, it's more just something they use. Feature wise, WhatsApp feels very aged and has not really kept up with competing applications. All in all I think it wouldn't be such a big deal, and if there were a ban, I do think it would probably be okay in the long run for most people; the communities would adjust (as they always do) and there are _plenty_ of alternatives.

libertine 4y ago

Maybe a couple of weeks of turmoil but in the end people would adjust to it, like they always do.

bvoq 4y ago

There are more than enough tech-savy interested startups that would love to fill the void left by Meta, Instagram, TikTok & co. I would not be surprised if social media becomes state-operated infrastructure at some point, as it is so crucial to everyone. Social media without ads paid by taxes.