Thread has been closed in Türkiye due to privacy concerns

Meta’s social messaging app Threads will be shut down in Türkiye starting this month. The company says it does not comply with local privacy regulations. The Turkish Competition Authority (TCA) took issue with the way Threads automatically links users’ data to their Instagram profiles.

Threads was launched last summer as Meta’s attempt to capitalize on the growing interest in more private social networking. But it was too tightly integrated with Instagram. You need an Instagram account to set up a Threads profile, and by default deleting one will delete the other. This created obvious privacy concerns as it forced a data connection with no option.

Meta will close Turkish thread on April 29th

At the request of regulators, Meta later added the option to separate the two profiles. But these changes appear to have come too late for Turkish authorities. According to the latest order from the TCA, as of April 29th, the thread will be temporarily blocked in the country. The notification tells millions of users to delete or deactivate their profiles by then.

“To comply with the interim order of Rekabet Krum/Turkish Competition Authority (TCA),” Mehta wrote on his blog. “Starting Monday, April 29th, we will be closing the Turkish thread. We know this is very disappointing for the community and many people in Turkey who participate in the thread.”

This is the latest privacy battle between Meta and Turkish authorities. In 2022, Meta was fined $18.6 million in Turkey for combining user data from Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Additionally, failure to comply with previous data sharing orders would result in a cumulative fine of $160,000 per day.

Meta also said it is taking steps to minimize disruption. However, the closure highlights Meta’s continued struggle to balance its data usage policies across regions. While its popularity remains high, active integration has increased scrutiny. To learn more about this, read our guide on how to deactivate your Threads account.

April 15, 2024