Meta Platforms should be fined for transferring Europeans' personal information to the U.S. in violation of an EU court ruling, Norwegian data protection authority Datatilsynet said.

"There would be little or no incentive to act in accordance" with EU data transfer laws unless regulators fine the U.S. tech giant, according to a partially redacted document obtained by POLITICO.

Datatilsynet is one of the few European regulators to respond to the Irish Data Protection Commission's July draft decision, which ordered Meta to stop using a legal tool called standard contractual clauses (SCC) to transmit data across the Atlantic.

Ireland's draft decision implements a 2020 court ruling in which the European Court of Justice struck down an EU-US data transfer agreement called Privacy Shield and tightened requirements on the use of other data transfer mechanisms such as SCC because they would expose Europeans to intrusive surveillance by the US.

"Based on the facts of the case, we do not see how [Meta] could have continued its personal data transfers following the Schrems II judgment had it acted in accordance with the GDPR," Norway's objection said.

Datatilsynet said it considers Meta's violation of EU data transfer rules "particularly serious."

Meta has repeatedly said that the decision to block its transmission would force it to close its Facebook and Instagram offerings in Europe, but a final decision will be made in a few months.

The Irish regulator must consider comments from other European regulators, including Norway, in its decision, and it may have to launch a formal dispute resolution mechanism if it cannot resolve the objections, which would delay the process for at least another month.

Meta could also appeal Ireland's final decision, again delaying the need to shut down Facebook and Instagram in Europe.

The process gives EU and U.S. officials critical months to negotiate a new transatlantic data agreement to replace the now-defunct Privacy Shield. Negotiators plan to finalize the new deal during the first quarter of 2023.