Q&A: Is Meta data-transfer fine enough to allay privacy concerns?

Estelle Masse, senior policy analyst at global digital rights group Access Now, speaks to Al Jazeera about the record penalty imposed on the tech giant. They gave it five months to stop sending European user data to the US and six months to bring its data operations into compliance “by ceasing the unlawful processing, including storage, in the US” of European users’ personal data transferred in violation of the 27-member bloc’s privacy rules. The fine comes after a decade-long battle by privacy activists that started when US intelligence whistle-blower Edward Snowden revealed tech giants knowingly handed data over to surveillance agencies. What’s been particularly problematic for many years is … tech giants monetising personal data of millions of us around the world while there is not this federal level of protection for information on the commercial sector, and then the scope of surveillance law in the US is so broad. But by requesting that the core of the decision be complied with within six months, we actually think that Facebook may not have to do anything because in six months’ time a new agreement between the EU and the US will likely be in place to allow for the transfer of information and Facebook will be able to keep all the data.