Facebook has had plenty of privacy troubles in the U.S., but some of its toughest battles are currently taking place in Europe. Last year, a U.K. commission criticized the social network’s privacy policy, saying reading it is “like engaging with Shakespeare.” In February, a report from a watchdog group hired by the Belgian government determined that Facebook’s privacy policy violated E.U. law.

Facebook fed up with piecemeal regulations

While Facebook has continued updating its policies and privacy features to comply with local laws, the company is getting fed up with the piecemeal regulations and repeated privacy inquiries that it believes are stifling progress.

“Facebook’s costs would increase, and people in Europe would notice new features arriving more slowly, or not at all,” Richard Allan, Facebook’s chief policy officer for Europe, wrote in the Financial Times. “If it is allowed to stand, complying with EU law will no longer be enough.”

According to Allan, some of the biggest problems faced by tech companies like Facebook are the disorganized regulatory systems in place. Rather than one unified body launching inquiries into Facebook’s privacy policies, the company faces several inquiries from individual members of the European Union, including Ireland, France, Spain, the U.K., Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.

Privacy regulations making life difficult for Facebook

Allan noted that while the privacy regulations make life difficult for large companies like Facebook, they can completely shut down smaller companies that are trying to grow.

“We know from experience that getting a company off the ground is hard enough already,” Allan wrote. “And if regulation at the national level is adopted, it could stop start-ups before they even really get started. At a time when Europe is looking to create jobs and grow its economy, the results could be disastrous.”

During a session on privacy at SXSW Interactive 2015, Facebook’s Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan said that “sometimes regulations have unintended consequences.” Egan explained that one of the best ways for companies to fight these issues is to better educate regulators about the technology and how it actually affects the privacy of the end user.

During the same session, Microsoft CPO Brendon Lynch explained that there would always be a gap between regulation and new technology. “Regulation is the floor, not the ceiling,” Lynch explained.

photo credit: System Lock via photopin (license)