Meta Platforms is currently engaged in separate protests to authorities in Canada and the UK over privacy issues and some other matter regarding fines.
In Canada, Meta is warning authorities of a risk to privacy arising from proposed legal changes and in the UK, it is reportedly taking the industry regulator to court over how it calculates fines.
Its challenge in Canada relates to Bill C-22, an Act involving lawful access to information deemed necessary for various criminal investigations and proceedings.
Canada argues existing laws must be updated to tackle increasingly globalised and digital crime networks, along with seeking to provide fresh investigative powers to policing bodies.
Meta Platforms warned part two of Bill-C22 is problematic, arguing provisions to enable various authorities to access information held by providers of electronic services could compromise people’s privacy.
It pressed Canada to “remove obligations for companies to add third-party surveillance tools”, provide a clearer definition of elements it believes could weaken encryption “or introduce security weaknesses”.
Meta Platforms backed part one of the bill, which the government describes as an update to its Criminal Code to improve interactions with telecom service providers, speed information request processes and allow user details to be conveyed in certain circumstances.
Perhaps ironically, end-to-end encryption on messages sent on the company’s Instagram platform ended today (8 May), reportedly due to lack of user appetite.
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Meta Platforms is separately reported to have taken legal action confronting the methods UK regulator Ofcom uses to calculate potential fines.
Financial Times noted Meta Platforms is challenging the UK’s Online Safety Act, which the newspaper described as particularly rigorous. The company believes enabling Ofcom to calculate fines based on global revenue is excessive and its methods of determining fees opaque.
The newspaper highlighted Meta Platforms’ challenge could open the floodgates for other companies to challenge the UK law: various outlets report Epic Games and the Computer and Communications Industry Association are already looking to get involved.
