As a result of Turkey’s competition authorities ruling that Meta may have abused its market position by sharing data between its Instagram and Threads apps, Meta will shortly be temporarily closing Threads in that nation.
With no impact on other Meta apps or services in other nations, Meta said in a blog post that it will “temporarily shut down Threads in Türkiye from 29 April.”
An interim injunction was issued by the Turkish Competition Authority (TCA), also known as Rekabet Kurumu, to prevent Meta from sharing data between Instagram and Threads. Users must create an Instagram account or have one already in order to open a Threads account.
Based in Turkey, Users of Threads can choose to delete or deactivate their profiles, and they will be notified of the decision. To save all of their data, there is a download option.
A translation of the notice on the official website states that the provisional measure against Meta was implemented “on suspicion of abusing the dominant position by linking Threads and Instagram apps,” according to Turkey’s competition commission.
Due to its own data privacy requirements, the European Union also delayed the debut of Threads, which was introduced in the summer of 2023.
Meta’s Current Difficulties
Meta has faced obstacles related to regulations in Turkey before. TechCrunch revealed in 2022 that the business paid a hefty $18.6 million in fines for combining customer data from WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook. This year, the TCA took the matter to a higher level by threatening to fine Meta $160,000 every day if it didn’t follow the earlier ruling.
In the meanwhile, Meta could have to be concerned about the effect this might have on Threads’ user base in addition to the forthcoming legal and financial challenges. Despite a strong beginning, Threads has had trouble maintaining its expansion.
More than 160 million people use the app as of right now. X’s base is 415 million times larger, but even so, it only makes up a quarter of that amount. Its problems with user growth and increased competition from X may result from Threads’ temporary suspension in Turkey.
While expressing optimism for a prompt reintroduction of Threads to Turkish customers, Meta states that it is still dedicated to cooperating with the TCA.
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