Meta’s new social media platform had a massively successful launch. However, it won’t be launching in the EU because of major concerns over data collection and privacy. Meta will have to completely change how they do business if they want to launch Threads in the EU
Meta’s Twitter rival Threads opened up to a massive launch. The app that has been touted as the best of both, Instagram as well as Twitter had over 2 million downloads in the first two hours after it launched. It then went on to have about 10 million sign-ups at the seven-hour mark.
To say that Meta’s Threads is one of the fastest apps to reach 10 million users after being launched wouldn’t be an understatement.
However, the launch of the app is not without its controversy. Meta has decided not to launch the app in the European Union
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Concerns over privacy
The app’s privacy disclosures on iOS reveal that it may collect sensitive user information, including health and financial data, precise location, browsing history, contacts, search history, and other sensitive details, in order to create user profiles based on their digital activities.
This is not surprising considering that Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook and the developer behind the app, generates revenue by tracking and profiling web users for behavioural advertising.
However, this raises concerns about whether Threads will be able to launch in the European Union. Meta’s previous legal basis for processing Facebook users’ personal data (performance of a contract) was deemed unlawful earlier this year.
Meta has now shifted to a claim of legitimate interest for processing data for targeted ads. However, the recent judgment by the European Union’s top court in a German case referral stated that this legal basis is not suitable for Meta’s behavioural ads, and consent must be obtained.
Furthermore, current EU law requires explicit consent, of an even higher standard, for the processing of sensitive information such as health data in order to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation. Meta would need to seek specific permission to process sensitive data like health information.
EU’s Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act
In addition, forthcoming EU regulations prohibit the use of sensitive data for advertising purposes and may require tech giants to obtain explicit consent before combining data for ad profiling (as outlined in the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act). This introduces more legal uncertainty for Meta’s data-driven business.
Currently, the company does not provide users with a clear choice to opt out of tracking and profiling, let alone seek explicit consent to share health data with advertisers. With stricter limits on surveillance ads being imposed in the EU, an app like Threads, which aims to track everything to maximize advertising potential, will face significant challenges with regional regulators.
Moreover, Meta has recently been ordered to stop transferring data from EU users to the US for processing and has been fined almost $1.3 billion for violating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regarding data exports.
While this order is specific to Facebook, the same requirement could potentially be applied to other Meta services that fail to adequately protect European users’ data overseas. Threads does not offer users the level of privacy protection provided by technologies like zero-knowledge architecture and end-to-end encryption.
EU demands a fundamental change in how Meta does business
Bringing Meta’s data-driven advertising business into compliance with EU law will require a fundamental change in its operations. However, it does not appear that this is Meta’s plan with Threads, as the app seems to continue the data collection and attention-farming practices that have tarnished the reputation of Mark Zuckerberg’s empire, leading to the expensive rebranding to Meta in recent years.
Whether the rebranding has succeeded in improving Meta’s corporate image is debatable. Instead of explicitly labelling Threads as a Meta app, the company has chosen to associate it with Instagram’s brand. The developer listed on the App Store is “Instagram Inc,” and the app’s description refers to it as “Instagram’s text-based conversation app.” This decision may be driven by Meta’s belief that it is the best strategy to quickly build a user base for Threads by leveraging Instagram’s large and engaged community.
One thing is clear: Threads will not be launching in the EU for now, and it may never do so unless Meta significantly changes its approach to user tracking and privacy. The Irish DPC, Meta’s lead regional data protection supervisor, stated that it has been in contact with Meta regarding the service, but Threads will not launch “at this point.” Meta has not responded to inquiries about its plans to launch Threads in the EU.
The DPC clarified that it has not prevented Meta from launching Threads based on its role in enforcing GDPR compliance. The DPC stated that Meta has “no plans to launch in the EU yet.” It seems that there has been no active regulatory intervention to block the launch at this stage.
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