Threads, Meta’s anti-Twitter, will not be available immediately in Europe

Meta will not be able to launch Threads in Europe immediately. The social network, considered the anti-Twitter and linked to Instagram, will only be launched in the United States because Meta at the moment would not have provided the Irish Privacy Guarantor with answers to the requirements for publishing the app. This was announced by the Dublin authority itself, where Meta is based in Europe, through a spokesperson heard by the Irish Independent. The US launch is scheduled for Thursday. From the first rumors it was learned that the app would be available for European stores the next day.

Threads, the anti-Twitter linked to Instagram

Threads, from what has emerged so far, is designed to import data from Instagram, including those collected by the recommendation algorithm (the software that allows the social network to understand our tastes, our preferences and consequently which advertisements could be suitable for we).

In the United States, where the privacy law is much more permissive, Threads will collect all the data permitted by American law: personal data, shared data concerning health, financial information, browsing histories, location, purchases, contacts, search history and sensitive information. These are contents already owned by Meta and obtained with the use of Instagram

But in the European Union, the Irish regulator has already prevented Meta from launching advertising services on Whatsapp that use data from Facebook or Instagram. And Threads would essentially do the same. It’s unclear at the moment when (or if) the app will launch in Europe. Meta has not commented at this time. The service, specifies the regulator, is not blocked in Europe but could do so if, upon availability, it does not respond to the rules imposed by the regulation for the protection of personal data in force in the European Union, the GDPR.

Threads could make some trouble for Twitter

The new Meta app, which from what has emerged so far follows in some way the functionality of Twitter as a microblogging service, arrives after weeks of tensions on Elon Musk’s social network. First the reduction in the number of posts that can be seen every day if you are not a paying user, then the suspension of TweetDeck for non-subscribers, caused various discontents in the user base.

Meta has tried to take advantage of this moment by anticipating the launch of Threads. It will be able to count on a user base of 2 billion, compared to Twitter’s 300 million. Reason that has led many commentators to consider the move interesting, to the point of being able to threaten the very existence of Twitter.