While the regulators have not blocked Meta’s Threads app in the region. It is Meta itself that has decided to delay the platform’s launch in the region to avoid potential regulatory issues since the app will be subjected to GDPR and EU privacy rules.
According to a spokesperson, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission stated that the app will not be available in the EU at the moment.
Meta has faced several disputes with EU regulators regarding its handling of user data.
In 2021, WhatsApp was fined €225 million ($266.8 million at the time) by the DPC for not giving enough information about how it shares EU users’ data with Facebook. This could be an issue for Threads as it imports data from Instagram, including advertising and behaviour information, according to its policy on the iOS App Store page.
Its most recent penalty involved a €1.2bn fine for violating GDPR regulations. The DPC issued the majority of these fines in Ireland, where Meta’s European headquarters are located. In 2022 alone, the regulator imposed four fines on the tech giant.
Meta has also been ruled by the EU to obtain user consent before delivering personalised ads within the region. The company was previously fined €390 million for serving such ads without consent.
The Threads app will be much like Twitter, featuring text posts. Users can share, comment, or repost these posts. Moreover, Threads users will be able to follow the same accounts they have on Instagram and maintain their usernames.
Threads, from Meta, which is to compete with Twitter, is set to launch on app stores in about 100 countries on July 6.
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