Facebook owner Meta’s highly anticipated Threads app, which aims to compete with Twitter, will not be launching in the European Union on Thursday due to regulatory concerns, according to a reliable source. This application is viewed as the most significant challenge to Twitter since its tumultuous period following Elon Musk’s acquisition.
A source close to Meta revealed on Wednesday that the tech giant has decided to withhold the release of Threads in the EU’s 27 countries as it seeks further clarity on the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a pivotal law that will be fully enforced next year in Europe. The DMA imposes rigorous regulations on major internet companies operating within the region.
One specific regulation restricts platforms from sharing data across various services and prevents companies from directing platform users exclusively towards their own products. Interestingly, the description of Threads on US app stores declares that users’ personal data, including contact and geolocation information, will be collected and utilized for advertising purposes.
Meta has already faced trouble with EU regulations due to its previous attempts to leverage data from WhatsApp in order to strengthen Instagram and Facebook, actions that European regulators explicitly prohibited. The spokesperson for Ireland’s Data Protection Commission confirmed that Meta informed them that the app would not be released in Europe “at this point,” considering that Ireland serves as Meta’s EU headquarters and its national regulator oversees the company in Europe.
When contacted by AFP, Meta declined to provide an immediate comment on the matter. Additionally, Meta was among the seven companies, including Amazon and Apple, that notified the EU about meeting the threshold to fall under the new rules when they become effective next year.
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