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Bad news for Meta’s Threads app in Europe - it won’t be offered in the EU anytime soon, it appears. The app, from the creators of Facebook, is seen as direct competition for Twitter. However, it has hit a serious hurdle in the EU. Due to how the platform works, it does not meet certain requirements in the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). This will prevent it from being rolled out across various countries that make up the Union.
This could change later in 2023. However, for the time being, Threads is not going to launch in Europe. This effectively bans the app from launching anywhere in the EU. Interestingly, it will be released in England.
What caused concern for Threads in Europe?
As of Wednesday, July 5, 2023, app stores across the European Union were not listing the new Threads app. While this new competition for Twitter is supposed to go live on Thursday, July 6, 2023, if you live in places like Italy, Ireland, Belgium, France, Germany, or Spain, don’t count on this app going live for you.
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The way Threads works is it allows the users to follow and interact with the same people they do on Instagram - Meta’s other major social media app other than Facebook. From similar follows and a ban list, the two apps share a significant amount of data.
That’s a problem for the EU's Digital Media Act. According to the union's DMA, Meta is one of the “Gatekeepers.” These companies are subject to more rigorous regulations for data sharing.
According to the EU’s website, If a company is to be a Gatekeeper, it has to meet certain requirements:
- Has a strong economic position, significant impact on the internal market and is active in multiple EU countries.
- Has a strong intermediation position, meaning that it links a larger user base to a large number of businesses
- Has (or is about to have) an entrenched and durable position in the market, meaning that is stable over time if the company met the two criteria above in each of the last three financial years.
These companies have a number of restrictions, one of which is that they cannot combine users’ personal data across multiple platforms - including Instagram - which is what Threads does.
While this is great, as it allows users to quickly build an audience on a fresh social media site, the EU's regulatory laws don't permit this. This could change in the future, or the regulations could be altered. For now, you can only use Meta's app in Europe if you live in the UK.
Will Threads launch in Europe any time soon?
It does not appear that Threads will launch in the EU or countries linked to the union.
Owing to strict privacy laws in Europe, this app will not show up. The Ireland Independent reported that a spokesperson for the country’s DPC (Data Protection Commission) said they were in contact about the new app. According to the spokesperson, it will not be rolled out anywhere in the EU “at this point.”
While the EU will not allow Mark Zuckerberg's new app to roll out across their countries, it will go live in various places, including the United States.
