Revised: Turkey’s Meta Implements Thread Closure in Adherence to Injunction Against Sharing Data with Instagram

Meta said on Monday that it plans to “temporarily” shutter Threads in Turkey from April 29, in response to an interim injunction imposed by the Turkish competition authority last month over the way Meta shares data between Threads and Instagram. In 2022, Turkey imposed a $18.6 million fine on Meta for combining user data across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Initially, the only way Meta allowed users to delete a Threads profile was by deleting their whole Instagram account, though it later introduced a separate mechanism for those wishing to ditch their Threads profile only. Turkish regulators had announced the investigation on the way Meta linked Threads with Instagram in December, concluding last month that there was a strong case to answer for. The latter of these options means a user’s profile can be resurrected when and if Threads is available in the country again.

On Monday, Meta announced that it will temporarily close its messaging app, Threads, in Turkey starting April 29. This decision was made in response to an interim injunction from the Turkish competition authority, Rekabet Kurumu, which was imposed last month. The injunction raised concerns about the way Meta shares data between Threads and Instagram, accusing the company of abuse of dominant market position by combining user data without their consent.

This is not the first time Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has faced regulatory battles in Europe. In 2021, the company was fined $267 million for breaching GDPR regulations in the European Union. It was also forced to sell Giphy, which it acquired for $400 million, to Shutterstock for $53 million in order to comply with competition laws.

“We are confident in our compliance with all Turkish legal requirements and plan to appeal the interim order,” said Meta in response to the TCA’s findings.

But this latest conflict is not without precedent. In 2022, Turkey fined Meta $18.6 million for combining user data across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. And in January of this year, the TCA threatened to fine Meta an additional $160,000 per day for not complying with the previous order. The TCA argued that the notification message sent by Meta to users about their data-sharing practices was inadequate and lacked transparency.

For context, Instagram’s sibling company, Threads, was launched last summer to attract users from Twitter who were leaving the platform following Elon Musk’s controversial takeover. Although Threads has reportedly gained 130 million users since then, Meta has faced criticism for requiring users to have an Instagram account in order to create a Threads profile.

In the beginning, the only way to delete a Threads profile was to delete the entire Instagram account. However, Meta later introduced a separate mechanism for users who wanted to delete their Threads profile without deleting their Instagram account. To comply with EU regulations, Meta initially delayed the launch of Threads in the region and even introduced a “view without profile” feature, which gave users limited access to the social network without having to create an account.

In December, Turkish regulators launched an investigation into the way Meta linked Threads with Instagram, which led to last month’s conclusion that there were grounds for concern. In their provisional report, the TCA stated:

“Meta has a comprehensive and detailed data pool due to its many years in the market. This, along with its large and diverse user base, makes it a prime platform for advertisers. As a result, Meta can dedicate more resources to the development of its services, creating a barrier for competitors in terms of accessing advertisers and financial resources. Additionally, by operating as an ecosystem with various related services, Meta can transfer its power and knowledge from one service to another, further consolidating its market power.”

These findings have led to today’s announcement that Meta will temporarily shut down Threads in Turkey while continuing to engage with the TCA in hopes of reaching a resolution. In a blog post, Meta stated:

“We do not agree with the interim order and believe that we are in compliance with all Turkish legal requirements. However, in light of this development, we have no choice but to temporarily pull Threads from Turkey. We remain committed to working with the TCA and look forward to reintroducing Threads in Turkey as soon as possible.”

Before April 29, all Threads users in Turkey will receive a notification about the closure and will have the option to either delete or deactivate their profile. Deactivating the profile will allow users to reactivate it if and when Threads becomes available in the country again.

Avatar photo
Zara Khan

Zara Khan is a seasoned investigative journalist with a focus on social justice issues. She has won numerous awards for her groundbreaking reporting and has a reputation for fearlessly exposing wrongdoing.

Articles: 847

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *