Facebook Claims Brexit Forces Shift of U.K. Users to U.S.

(Bloomberg) -- Facebook Inc. is transferring legal responsibilities of its U.K. users from Ireland to its U.S. entity, claiming it’s responding to uncertainties resulting from Brexit.

The social media giant said there would be no change to the privacy controls or the services it offers its U.K. users, in spite of moving legal oversight out of the EU, which has tough data protection laws.

“Like other companies, Facebook has had to make changes to respond to Brexit and will be transferring legal responsibilities and obligations for U.K. users from Facebook Ireland to Facebook Inc.,” a spokesperson for the company said.

Facebook also said the move was in line with how it treats data of other users outside of Europe.

It said the move was down to uncertainties that remain with the U.K. nearing the end of the Brexit transition period but didn’t provide further details about what remained unanswered.

The company said the change wouldn’t impact how it collects and processes British users’ data and that individuals would keep the protection of the EU’s privacy laws.

Facebook’s plans, which would enter into effect in 2021, follows a similar move by Alphabet Inc.’s Google earlier this year. Reuters reported on the social media company’s plans earlier.

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