Meta’s ‘Threads’ App Delayed in Europe Over Regulatory Issues
According to a reliable source, Meta’s newly developed Threads app, intended to compete with Twitter, will not be accessible in the European Union upon its launch this Thursday due to regulatory apprehensions.
The app is seen as Twitter’s biggest challenge since Elon Musk’s takeover plunged the social media platform, hugely popular among politicians and celebrities, into chaos.
A source close to Metal said on Wednesday that the tech giant was holding back Threads publication in the EU’s 27 countries as it seeks clarity on the bloc’s digital market law, which will come into full effect next year.
The DMA is a landmark law that imposes strict rules on the Internet’s biggest companies in Europe.
One of these settings prohibits platforms from sharing data between different services. It also restricts companies that direct users of the platform to their own products.
A description of Threads in app stores in the US indicated that user personal information, including contact information and geolocation data, is collected and used for advertising purposes.
Meta has already broken EU rules by trying to use WhatsApp data to verify Instagram and Facebook, which European regulators banned it from doing.
A spokesperson for the Irish Data Protection Commission told the Irish Independent that Meta confirmed it would not be releasing the app in Europe “at this stage”.
Ireland is home to Meta’s EU headquarters, and the national regulatory authority oversees the company in Europe.
When contacted by AFP, Meta did not immediately comment.
Meta was one of seven companies, including Amazon and Apple, to notify the EU on Tuesday that they will reach the threshold to be covered by the new rules when they come into effect next year.
