Facebook’s US headquarters will take control of legal responsibilities for UK users from next year, shifting away from current EU-based user agreements as a result of Brexit.

UK users are currently overseen by Facebook Ireland as part of the EU but this will switch to Facebook Inc in California once the Brexit transition period is over.

EU-wide GDPR rules which require firms to protect people’s data and privacy are among the strictest in the world.

There will be no change to the privacy controls or the services Facebook offers to people in the UK, and the protections of UK GDPR will also apply

Facebook said it will follow UK GDPR from 2021 and there will be no change to the privacy controls or services it currently offers.

Google announced a similar move in February.

“Like other companies, Facebook has had to make changes to respond to Brexit and will be transferring legal responsibilities and obligations for UK users from Facebook Ireland to Facebook Inc,” a Facebook spokesman said.

“There will be no change to the privacy controls or the services Facebook offers to people in the UK, and the protections of UK GDPR will also apply.”

The terms of service applicable to the UK will be updated in the first half of the year to reflect this change, the social network added.