Meta's Twitter competitor Threads might not launch in EU: report

Meta will reportedly not launch its new Twitter competitor Threads in Ireland or the European Union (EU) in the foreseeable future, reported the Irish Independent newspaper.

According to Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC) spokesperson, the regulator had been in contact about the new service and it would not be rolled out in the EU "at this point", noted the report.

Threads is expected to launch on Thursday in the US and UK as an alternative to Twitter.


The new platform is designed to import data from Instagram, including behavioural and advertising information. In its US format, the platform informed users that it will collect a wide range of information about them, including health information, financial information, browsing histories, location, purchases, contacts, search history and sensitive information.

However, in the EU format, the Irish regulator has prevented Meta from launching advertising services on WhatsApp that use data from Facebook or Instagram. In the US, where privacy laws are weaker, the tech giant is permitted to combine the two data streams, said the report.

The DPC has not actively blocked the service, instead, the company is still preparing it for a European launch outside the UK, which does not fully comply with GDPR.

Last week, Meta's Twitter competitor briefly appeared on the Google Play Store. Since January, Threads has been under development at Meta under the name "Project 92".

"We've been hearing from creators and public figures who are interested in having a platform that is sanely run, that they believe that they can trust and rely upon for distribution," Meta chief product officer Chris Cox had said.