Meta’s Twitter Rival – Threads, Is a Privacy Nightmare, Won’t Be Launched in the UK Yet

Meta's rival to Twitter, the new Instagram-linked app - Threads, is all set for its launch in the US and the UK. However, the supposed Twitter rival won't be coming to the EU just yet, thanks to its stringent data privacy laws.

Though the Threads app isn't publicly available yet, it already seems to be a privacy nightmare.

According to information provided by Meta in the mandatory disclosures for the app on iOS, it turns out that Threads can collect highly sensitive user information.

These include health and financial data, browsing history, contacts, precise location, search history, and other personal data that could be used to profile their digital activity.

Privacy Concerns Surrounding the Threads App

It's no secret that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, tracks profiles across its platforms. The company earns most of its revenue via its behavioral advertising microtargeting tools, which rely on such collected data to target the audience.

Hence, the privacy concerns surrounding the Threads app aren't really a surprise.

Since Threads is built on the Instagram infrastructure, it might potentially import data such as advertising and behavioral information from Instagram.

Currently, Meta doesn't even offer users an up-front choice on data collection, which means users have no option to deny the company permission to track and profile them. The tech giant doesn't explicitly ask users whether they're fine with their data being sold to advertisers, either.

Recently, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) fined Meta almost $1.3 billion for a breach of the GDPR's requirements on data exports. The company was also ordered to stop exporting EU user data to the US for processing.

Will Threads Be Launched in the EU?

The host of privacy concerns shadowing the Threads app has given rise to speculations over whether Meta would be able to launch it in the EU at all. As the Irish Data Protection Authority pointed out, the app will not launch in its region as of now.

[We are]not yet prepared the service for a European launch outside the UK, which is not fully governed by GDPR or EU privacy rules.Meta

The situation is similar in other EU nations as well, where the app doesn't comply with the applicable privacy rules.

Considering the strict laws regarding data collection and behavioral advertising in the region, Meta would have to make vast changes to the app.

Earlier this year, the legal basis claimed by Meta for the processing of Facebook user data was found to be unlawful in the EU.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) also ruled earlier this week that the company's legal basis wasn't appropriate for running its behavioral ads and that it would still be required to seek consent.

The EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) is scheduled to take effect in 2024. Hence, it's quite likely that the tech giant is concerned about the legal debacles it might face once the Threads app is subjected to the DMA.

Following Brexit, the UK no longer falls under EU privacy laws. Though the data protection laws in the UK are derived from GDPR, the company's data protection authority is infamous for slacking at dealing with privacy breaches by the advertising industry.

Especially now that the UK plans to lower its domestic data protection standards, Meta doesn't face much of a risk. However, it remains unclear whether the Threads app will be launched in the rest of Europe.

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