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.

1. Breaking: Meta’s Threads Shut Down in
Turkey – The Inside Story Revealed!
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.

2. 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.