Meta’s Twitter Competitor Threads Delayed in EU

Meta’s soon-to-launch Twitter competitor Threads won’t be available immediately in the EU, according to a statement from the Irish privacy regulator DPC. A spokesperson for the DPC indicated that it is not yet certain whether Meta’s Threads service will be available in the EU, and that the social media giant itself is still postponing a launch in the EU. Meta itself has not commented on the matter.

Threads to Launch in US and UK This Week

Threads, which is intended to compete with the now very volatile Twitter, is a spin-off of Instagram. The service is set to be available this week in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Threads uses, among other things, the health and location data of Instagram users, as well as search history and other sensitive information. This may conflict with the GDPR regulations applicable within the EU.
At an earlier stage, the DPC blocked the introduction of advertisements in Meta’s WhatsApp messaging service. This is because data from Facebook and Instagram would be mixed for this. In the US, where less strict privacy legislation applies, combining (personal) data from two sources is allowed.