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Germany ist’s a small State. It‘s basically the most powerful nation in Europe. I can‘t see any benefit for Facebook from this. There is a line of thought that Germany decides lots of EU decisions, could we see Facebook banned from the EU? Unlikely, Facebook will probably back down like they did with Austraila, but if things keep escalating after a Germany ban I think an EU ban would be talked about.

Facebook and governments are very experienced at spinning news in a way that makes them look good.

The Australian government was looking for mandatory negotiations with media companies, forcing them to pay for content. They relaxed that "mandatory" clause a bit and added longer periods for notification and negotiation.

In the past year, Facebook has signed revenue-sharing deals with most of the major news platforms in Australia (ongoing) and on Monday of this week, they announced they would be investing $15 million in regional news media. https://www.fool.com.au/2021/05/10/facebook-to-invest-15-mil...

Google has also signed contracts with some of the major media companies.

which is, imho, a loss for journalism integrity in australia. The media law was instigated by the incumbent media conglomerate in australia, to prevent revenue leakage to google, but still allow the utilization to bring in traffic etc.

Google, and the other tech companies should've strong armed, and threaten to quit (and perhaps, actually do) displaying _any_ australian media outlets in their search engines.

I think google didn't want to play chicken because the fees they are asked to pay is relatively small (given their size), and a fight with the aus gov't would've been a bit ugly (because it's an indirect fight that the media conglomerate has managed to strong arm the gov't to fight for them). Alas, it wasn't meant to be, and Google (and others) deemed it a small price to pay - what a letdown for ordinary australians and a huge win for the entrenched media conglomerate in australia.

Perhaps Facebook believes that the regulator has stepped beyond its legal authority and would prefer to have a court decide the matter? It's a pretty normal thing. Bureaucrats may be powerful, but, in countries I'm familiar with, they are limited by the law in terms of what actions they may take, what justifications they must provide, and the reach of their decisions' force. Facebook appears to be wagering that this decision will not be enforced, presumably due to an insufficiency of one of these factors.

> Unlikely, Facebook will probably back down like they did with Austraila

Also, you're mistaken about what happened here. Australia blinked. Facebook got most of what it wanted. Only then did Facebook unban Australian news.

> Perhaps Facebook believes that the regulator has stepped beyond its legal authority and would prefer to have a court decide the matter?

Then they can contest the injunction and if wasn't justified, it will be revoked. But they can't just ignore it.

Apparently they can just ignore it, though, at the risk of whatever consequences would apply. I confess I do not know the details of the legalities around this particular injunction, whether it behaves like an American injunction, etc. I notice that not a court but a commissioner issued this injunction, and not even a commissioner with authority over all of Germany, but one just within the (state? province? municipality?) of Hamburg. I'm not sure whether that is of any import but it does seem odd to me.

Like, if the city of Atlanta had a privacy commission and ordered Facebook not to do something, Facebook would probably just ignore that since cities in the U.S. do not have the power to regulate interstate commerce. I have no idea whether the same type of limitation exists in this case.

Presumably Facebook weighed the risks before going ahead. We'll see if their decision turns out to be the right one.

Just pointing out that Hamburg is a free city republican state within the federal republic of Germany. So I don't think it carries any water.

Hamburg is a state, and laws are generally executed by the states in Germany. That includes federal and union laws. So that's perfectly normal. I don't know if the the injunction technically applies to all of Germany, but since Facebook doesn't necessarily know if someone is from Hamburg, it probably doesn't matter in practice.

In the long run, you can only operate in a jurisdiction in which you are welcome. Especially when your position is unique like Facebook's. A foreign company that openly ignores the law is not and I can only attribute Facebook's behaviour to arrogance.

What Facebook really believes is that they can escalate this and buy themselves a few months even knowing they will eventually loose. Whether or not it is eventually enforced, they’ve bought some time and they can easily afford the cost.

> Bureaucrats may be powerful

Bureaucrats are not as powerful as politicians, and I think that the EU is slowly and belatedly coming to the realisation that it needs to control its computing and communications infrastructure, in order for it to preserve independence from the other big powers -- such as the USA and China.

So I think that it's quite possible in the coming years that the German and EU authorities will come to the conclusion that Facebook are too big for their boots and need to be taken down a peg or two -- for example by requiring them to divest themselves of Instagram and other acquisitions, or maybe banning them from the EU entirely and building their own alternatives.

> could we see Facebook banned from the EU?

I wish they were banned from the EU, for a variety of reasons. As an American living in Croatia, I can affirm that social media works differently abroad and it is a lot more pleasant.

Facebook is probably exploiting a loophole. The European Commission [1] should make an example out of them.

"More than 90% of Europeans say they want the same data protection rights across the EU and regardless of where their data is processed." [2]

Facebook will lose some in this, but they will reap some benefits, by trying the Germany route, or they would not be attempting this. They probably have some carte blanche (wild card) that they plan on playing.

The EU should make an example of them. Facebook have always been in contempt of the GDPR, and are certainly perpetually violating it.

Data privacy is not a joke. It is a legal framework in the EU. Also, it is about respect of others and not abusing their rights. Yes, it is a right in the EU: "The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights stipulates that EU citizens have the right to protection of their personal data." [3]

[1] European Commission Information: https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/institutions-bodie...

[1][2] https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/data...

This order didn't come from the German federal government. It came from the data protection official of one state (Hamburg). It don't think he has too much influence of the German government.

I have remarked before that Zuckerberg wants to be the Murdoch of the 21st century. To wield his media influence as a "kingmaker" (mostly quietly and behind the scenes, but with those seeking to gain or hold power knowing they will need Facebook's co-operation). And ensuring as compensation an unchallenged position for Facebook, and minimal taxation and other interference.

I agree, though this is an understatement:

> the level of power held by these multinationals approaching those of small states

I'd say Facebook, Google and a few others are far more powerful than MANY small states.

"However through all that, there doesn't seem to have been much questioning of the nature of Big Tech's power, only the direction of it application."

Hopefully this will change and more people come to understand that this is an issue.

Here is the press release from HmbDfPI which describes the collection and usage restrictions in more detail:

https://datenschutz-hamburg.de/assets/pdf/2021-05-11-press-r...

The injunction only lasts three months, during which time the Commissioner will bring the matter to the EDPB. There is no guarantee the EDPB will pursue it.

This is perhaps where Eric Prince's mercenarys as a service MAAS business can help.