After many EU-based users complained that they could not access Instagram's Threads app via VPN, Meta said it was blocking such attempts.
See also: Twitter threatens Meta with lawsuit over Threads
Last week, the company launched Threads, but due to privacy concerns about the app, it is not available in the EU. The company said it has implemented additional measures to prevent users from accessing the new social app.
Earlier today, several EU-based users began posting screenshots on Twitter, indicating that they were unable to access the Threads app, even after using a VPN.
The Threads app tracks users extensively according to Meta's privacy policy and the app's iOS listing, which reveals that the app can collect a range of personal data, including highly sensitive information such as health and financial data, precise location, browsing history, contacts, and search history.
This approach creates legal and regulatory challenges for Meta in the EU.
Under EU data protection law, Meta requires a valid legal basis for lawfully processing such personal data for ad targeting – an area in which the company faces increasing uncertainty following a recent Court of Justice ruling.
See also: How to temporarily disable your Threads account
And that's not all: The Digital Markets Act also places restrictions on how gatekeeping giants can combine data for advertising.
Despite the fact that it has not been officially launched in most of Europe yet, the application has taken off very dynamically as it surpassed 100 million registrations in just a few days.
However, according to analytics tracking firm Sensor Tower, daily active users were down 20% this week compared to Saturday, while time spent on the app had also decreased.
Earlier this week, Meta updated its Thread iOS app with support for iOS 17 and reduced the binary size along with other small improvements.
Information source: techcrunch.com
