» The CNIL said it had repeatedly asked WhatsApp to provide a sample of French users’ data transferred to Facebook but the company had explained it could not do so as it is located in the United States and “it considers that it is only subject to the legislation of this country.” «
That's a very interesting quote from Facebook, and explains why the GDPR has a special section explaining that it also applies to foreign companies that process data of EU citizen.
In general, Facebook is trying to set a dangerous precedent here. A company operating in our countries, taking our data, owning property in our countries, having employees in our countries, owning critical infrastructure in our countries (WhatsApp has basically replaced SMS and other messaging infrastructure), yet refusing to acknowledge the laws of the countries they operate in.
That's a very interesting quote from Facebook, and explains why the GDPR has a special section explaining that it also applies to foreign companies that process data of EU citizen.
In general, Facebook is trying to set a dangerous precedent here. A company operating in our countries, taking our data, owning property in our countries, having employees in our countries, owning critical infrastructure in our countries (WhatsApp has basically replaced SMS and other messaging infrastructure), yet refusing to acknowledge the laws of the countries they operate in.