Ditching Instagram would free up 20 minutes a day for Vestager

Vestager took a softer line than German and French ministers who said they’d be fine without the social network. — AFP

Ditching Instagram would free up 20 minutes a day for the EU’s digital chief as she waded into a bubbling row over threats the social network may quit Europe.

Meta Platforms Inc, which owns Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, repeated a threat that it would pull out of Europe if it can’t continue transferring user data back to the US. Regulators are yet to replace a scrapped privacy pact.

Asked if she’d miss Facebook, Margrethe Vestager took a softer line than German and French ministers who said they’d be fine without the social network.

“I’m on Instagram. If it doesn’t work any more it would give me another maybe 10-20 minutes per day,” Vestager told Bloomberg TV on Tuesday. “I have learned at least in politics, you should never threaten to leave, you should threaten to stay.” – Bloomberg