Meta recently announced its decision to temporarily halt its service, Threads, in Turkey starting April 29. This decision comes in response to an interim injunction issued by the Turkish competition authority, following allegations of unfair data practices between Threads and Instagram.
The Turkish Competition Authority (TCA), also known as Rekabet Kurumu, initiated an investigation after concerns were raised about Meta’s handling of user data. The TCA found that Meta, the parent company of Instagram, was allegedly leveraging its dominant market position by combining user data from Threads profiles with their Instagram accounts without providing users with the option to opt in.
This isn’t the first time Meta has faced regulatory challenges in Europe. In 2021, the company was fined $267 million for breaching GDPR regulations related to WhatsApp in the European Union. Additionally, Meta was compelled to divest Giphy, which it had acquired for $400 million, due to antitrust concerns, ultimately selling it to Shutterstock for $53 million.
The issue of data integration has been a recurring theme for Meta. In 2022, Turkey fined Meta $18.6 million for similar data combining practices involving Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Despite warnings and fines, Meta allegedly failed to comply with Turkish regulations, resulting in additional penalties.
Threads, a service launched by Instagram, aimed to attract users who were dissatisfied with Twitter, especially following controversies surrounding Elon Musk. While Threads garnered significant user numbers, Meta faced criticism for requiring users to have an Instagram account to access the service. Initially, deleting a Threads profile meant deleting the entire Instagram account, although Meta later introduced a separate deletion mechanism.
In order to adhere to EU regulations, Meta delayed the launch of Threads and introduced a “view without profile” feature. However, in Turkey, regulators raised concerns about Meta’s integration of Threads with Instagram, highlighting the company’s dominance in the market, its appeal to advertisers, and the transfer of market power between services.
In response to the interim order issued by the TCA, Meta has decided to temporarily suspend Threads in Turkey. However, the company has stated its intention to appeal the decision, emphasizing its belief that it is in compliance with Turkish legal requirements. Meta remains committed to engaging with Turkish authorities and hopes to resolve the situation swiftly to restore Threads for Turkish users.
As part of the suspension process, users of Threads in Turkey will receive notifications about the impending closure and will be given the option to either delete or deactivate their profiles. The deactivation option allows users to reactivate their profiles if Threads becomes available in Turkey again.
