Let’s be honest for a second about Facebook and the EU

It’s finally coming to a head. After years of hedging and fudging and hiding behind controversial ‘standard contractual clauses’, reality is staring us in the face. Facebook, Google and the rest may soon be run out of Europe as the internet splits into three core silos: the US, Europe and China. There are now a few big questions. First, is there a way for big tech companies to carry on with existing services without breaking EU privacy law? Facebook says it can’t see how. But one of today’s guests, Castlebridge founder Daragh O’Brien, says there is a way. But even if they can do it, is all of this really the opening salvo in a wider trend to see big US tech companies, as they currently operate, watered down in Europe? Moreover, would we miss them if they left? INM’s Steve Dempsey looks at that issue, alongside Adrian.