Meta faces a $100,000 daily fine if it doesn’t fix privacy issues in Norway | ‘It is so clear that this is illegal that we need to intervene now and immediately.’::Meta’s practice of tracking Instagram and Facebook users violates their privacy, Norway’s data protection regulator said…
For anyone claiming that this isn’t enough, remember that Norway’s population is 5.4 million. If the fine were raised any higher, Facebook can simply not do business there. The goal is to get Facebook to comply with the law, not to remove them.
"This decision “does not ban Facebook or Instagram in Norway,” Tobias Judin, the Norwegian Data Protection Authority’s international department head, stated in a release. “The purpose is rather to ensure that people in Norway can use these services in a secure way and that their rights are safeguarded.” - > AP News
At face value many people would say that Facebook pulling out is a good thing, but it’s not that simple. Lots of small businesses rely on social media. People would be losing a forum for political discourse, no matter how fake news infested it may be. People who rely on it to initiate social interaction will have to find a different channel now. They are so conditioned to the convenience of staying connected with friends and family through social media that it has eroded forms of communication. This isn’t a judgment on social media users, this is just stating how social interactions have changed and how detrimental removing these tools can be.
Facebook has around 3 billion users. It’s economic impact is estimated at 227 billion USD. It’s part of the fabric of society, especially for people with poor media literacy. Good luck pulling the plug on that.