Antigua Breaking News

Top Trusted News Source in Antigua

Search
Previous slide
Next slide

EU slaps Meta with record $1.3B fine. Case rooted in data privacy concerns

Share this article:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn

The European Union on Monday fined Meta a record $1.3 billion for transferring European users’ data to the US.

The penalty marks the largest since the EU implemented harsher data privacy laws in 2018 — and the end of a decade-long case that was filed by Austrian lawyer and privacy activist Max Schrems, according to AP News.

In 2013, Schrems filed a complaint about Facebook’s handling of his data after then-National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden leaked classified documents revealing the mass surveillance of American citizens by their own intelligence apparatus.

The leaked information included the revelation that Facebook gave US agencies access to Europeans’ personal data.

While the US has no comprehensive federal law to police data privacy, the EU has the Digital Services Act, which forces big tech companies to protect European users from hate speech, disinformation and other harmful online content, according to AP.

The EU and US also followed the Privacy Shield framework, which allowed companies on both sides of the Atlantic to transfer personal data while following protection requirements. The Privacy Shield was implemented in 2016, but was later struck down by the Court of Justice of the European Union in 2020, citing concerns that it could not ensure data security for Europeans once their information was sent to the US.

Be part of the conversation.

Let us know what you think by adding a comment below. Click here to start now!

Monday’s decision by the EU’s top court to fine Meta is the largest since Amazon was fined $800 million in 2021 for data protection violations, AP reported. It also confirmed that another tool governing data transfers — stock legal contracts — is invalid.

Meta was also ordered to return all personal data to its EU data centers.

Schrems said in a statement that “the fine could have been much higher, given that the maximum fine is more than 4 billion and Meta has knowingly broken the law to make a profit for ten years. Unless US surveillance laws get fixed, Meta will have to fundamentally restructure its systems.”

Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, and Jennifer Newstead, chief legal officer at Meta, said in a blog post on Monday that “this decision is flawed, unjustified and sets a dangerous precedent for the countless other companies transferring data between the EU and US.”

Meta plans to “appeal the ruling, including the unjustified and unnecessary fine, and seek a stay of the orders through the courts.”

The blog post also said that the “the ability for data to be transferred across borders is fundamental to how the global open internet works.” By stopping “the free flow of data,” the internet will “restrict the global economy and leaving citizens in different countries unable to access many of the shared services we have come to rely on.”

There was no immediate disruption to Facebook in Europe on Monday. The decision only applied to Facebook, not Meta’s other platforms.

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission handed down the fine because the Silicon Valley-based tech giant’s European headquarters are in Dublin, according to AP.

Meta now has six months to brings its data operations into compliance “by ceasing the unlawful processing, including storage, in the US” of European users’ personal data that was transferred stateside in violation of the EU’s data privacy laws.

Make a donation to help support ABN, via PayPal: [email protected]. Follow Antigua Breaking News on Twitter @ABNAntigua and Instgram @AntiguaBreakingNews and on Facebook. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-868-704-9864 or email us at [email protected].

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES:  CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP FOR NEWS UPDATES: CLICK HERE.

Share this article:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn

Join the Conversation!

Comments are closed.

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]