3 ms·

Does the EU have jurisdiction over Meta? What happens if Meta.. just doesn't pay the fine? If Meta has datacenters / servers / offices in the EU that can be p

by csense 4y ago

Does the EU have jurisdiction over Meta? What happens if Meta.. just doesn't pay the fine? If Meta has datacenters / servers / offices in the EU that can be physically seized, or employees who can be arrested, presumably the EU will do just that. In that case, the EU does have jurisdiction and there are real consequences if Facebook doesn't comply. But what if Facebook doesn't have that European presence? What if Facebook is entirely based in the US, or moves all those seizable assets and arrestable employees out of Europe before the payment deadline? Does the EU have a way to order all its ISP's to block Meta? What if Meta actively deploys countermeasures to make blocking difficult, e.g. encrypting DNS, regularly rotating rented IP addresses, and having its official app send people to a Tor endpoint based on their geolocation? Would Facebook executives be at risk being hauled away in handcuffs to a European jail if they ever go on a European vacation? Would the US arrest and extradite people for violating privacy laws that don't exist in the US?

mattashii 4y ago
> Does the EU have jurisdiction over Meta? Yes, through their legal entity in Ireland, and through various laws that govern the ways you can do business in the EU. > What happens if Meta.. just doesn't pay the fine? It will eventually result in either the fine being paid by Meta, the fine being nullified by the judge, or the seizure of Meta's properties by force by the government, depending on Meta's actions and court rulings if Meta sues against these fines. --- > But what if Facebook doesn't have that European presence? What if Facebook is entirely based in the US, or moves all those seizable assets and arrestable employees out of Europe before the payment deadline? Does the EU have a way to order all its ISP's to block Meta? Not necessarily, but that does not matter much, because the government could at that point seize any outgoing bank payments to Meta to the amount of the fine, effectively shutting down their income flows from the EU.

by csense 4y ago

mattashii 4y ago

> Does the EU have jurisdiction over Meta? Yes, through their legal entity in Ireland, and through various laws that govern the ways you can do business in the EU. > What happens if Meta.. just doesn't pay the fine? It will eventually result in either the fine being paid by Meta, the fine being nullified by the judge, or the seizure of Meta's properties by force by the government, depending on Meta's actions and court rulings if Meta sues against these fines. --- > But what if Facebook doesn't have that European presence? What if Facebook is entirely based in the US, or moves all those seizable assets and arrestable employees out of Europe before the payment deadline? Does the EU have a way to order all its ISP's to block Meta? Not necessarily, but that does not matter much, because the government could at that point seize any outgoing bank payments to Meta to the amount of the fine, effectively shutting down their income flows from the EU.