About

Facebook Europe Shutdown, also known as the Facebook EU Ban or the Europe Meta Shutdown, refers to a controversy that arose in February 2022 regarding Facebook, Meta and Instagram services being banned or suspended in the European Union. This decision was made in response to a 2020 mandate from the European Court of Justice that the data transfer between the EU and the U.S. doesn't adequately protect European citizens' privacy in regards to targeted ads and data collection. The controversy inspired memes primarily on Reddit's /r/Memes as people posted reactions to the news.

Background

July 2020 European Court Of Justice Mandate

On July 16th, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a press release^[1] that stated, "the limitations on the protection of personal data arising from the domestic law of the United States on the access and use by US public authorities of such data transferred from the European Union to that third country, which the Commission assessed are not circumscribed in a way that satisfies requirements that are essentially equivalent to those required under EU law, by the principle of proportionality, in so far as the surveillance programs based on those provisions are not limited to what is strictly necessary." Essentially, the Court ruled that European user data could not within good conscious be transferred to a foreign third party.

Facebook's February 2022 Statement

On February 3rd, 2022, Meta released an annual report^[2] that included a clause about the July 2020 ruling from the EU Court. It made a statement about the possibility of removing "core services" from all European users. This rug-pull was summed up within a couple of sentences: "If a new transatlantic data transfer framework is not adopted and we are unable to continue to rely on SCCs (standard contractual clauses) or rely upon other alternative means of data transfers from Europe to the United States, we will likely be unable to offer a number of our most significant products and services, including Facebook and Instagram, in Europe."

Developments

Initial Reactions

On Twitter, users started to post tweets in reaction to the controversy in early February 2022. For instance, on February 6th, the Twitter^[3] account ddofinternet posted a tweet reading, "Meta is threatening to shut down Facebook and Instagram in Europe. / This company is falling apart," earning roughly 49,700 likes in two days (shown below, left). Twitter^[4] user AsmrStarling replied to ddofinternet's tweet the same day saying, "If they close Facebook, the average IQ in Europe would probably go up by 50 points," earning roughly 11,900 likes in two days (shown below, right).

Twitter^[5] user joncoopertweets posted about Spotify in conjunction with the Facebook EU Shutdown, in reference to its recent scandal regarding Joe Rogan, earning roughly 20,700 likes for his tweet over two days (shown below).

Redditors joined the meme trend starting on February 7th, 2022. For instance, Redditor Dat_Sentry posted a meme to /r/lotrmemes^[6] using the likeness of Gollum from Lord of the Rings to make a joke about Europeans being happy about the shutdown, earning roughly 7,700 upvotes in less than 24 hours (shown below).

Redditor einsamerkerl then posted a GIF Caption meme to /r/dankmemes^[7] on February 8th, earning roughly 31,400 upvotes in less than 24 hours (shown below).

Bruno le Maire and Robert Habeck Respond

On the morning of February 8th, 2022,^[7] French Finance Minister Bruno le Maire and German Economy Minister Robert Habeck held a joint press conference in which they addressed Meta's annual report. They were quoted saying rather blunt and personal statements regarding their personal views on using social media. For instance, le Maire stated, "I can confirm that life is very good without Facebook and that we would live very well without Facebook. Digital giants must understand that the European continent will resist and affirm its sovereignty." Habeck was quoted saying, "I’ve lived without Facebook for four years and life has been fantastic. The European Union is such a big internal market with so much economic power that if we act in unity we won’t be intimidated by something like this" (a photo of the two at the conference shown below).

Online Reactions

After the press conference with le Maire and Habeck, memes appeared in more abundance on Reddit. The memes began to more specifically reference the European people and their government's nonplussed attitude in regards to their Facebook and Instagram privileges possibly being removed. For instance, on February 8th, 2022, Redditor Mimamo001 posted a The Fairly OddParents meme to /r/Memes,^[8] earning roughly 5,500 upvotes in less than 24 hours (shown below).

Also on February 8th, Redditor johnlen1n posted a video to /r/memes^[9] with the caption, "Europe after Meta shuts down Facebook and Instagram," earning roughly 4,400 upvotes in less than 24 hours (shown below).

Search Interest

External References