Metas Rush to Topple Twitter Sets Up Looming Privacy Debate

GDPR is halting Metas new Threads app from entering EU markets, portending a broader struggle over the right ways to collect user data on social apps.

Upcoming data privacy regulations are preventing Metas new microblogging app Threads from
launching in European Union (EU) markets
. Experts say this is only the beginning of the privacy battle facing the Twitter clone.
Metas attempted coup detat against the Twitter kingdom launched on Wednesday in over 100 countries, earning tens of millions of users in only its first day live. That, despite being unavailable to major markets within the EU.
The holdup has to do with complexities with complying with some of the laws coming into effect next year,
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri hinted
on July 5. Mosseris statement may refer to the new antitrust-oriented
Digital Markets Act
, but experts also expect Threads to collide head-on with consumer privacy regulations, thanks to its wanton collection of just about every kind of personal data imaginable.
It seems likely that theyre worried about the risk of rolling out something new that very clearly violates General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) guidelines, says Aaron Mendes, CEO and co-founder of PrivacyHawk. But Threads slow rollout doesnt preclude it from flourishing in the future. Facebook has a reputation of rolling things out over time — they like to get stuff out fast, and then get information in and iterate.
Meta has a history of conflict with regulators, owing to its liberal approach to consumer privacy.
The EU has already fined the media giant
to the tune of nine figures or more
on multiple occasions
.
Judging by
its entry in the Apple app store
, its no wonder that Threads is being shielded from EU scrutiny. Browsing history, geolocations, health and financial information, and much more are all up for grabs. Theres even a dedicated category for sensitive information which,
according to Apples documentation
, includes racial or ethnic data, sexual orientation, pregnancy or childbirth information, disability, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, political opinion, genetic information, or biometric data.
According to Mendes, theres no reason for users to suddenly freak out. For one thing, even the most egregious data collectors now provide settings for users to toggle what kinds of information theyre willing to divulge. And at the end of the day, he points out, Threads is effectively Instagram. You use Instagram to log into it. So its all the same data collection, all the same protocols.
Threads does distinguish itself from its parent platform in its
supplemental privacy policy
. One rule of particular note: Itll only be possible to delete a Threads account by deleting the Instagram account associated with it.
Few of the tens of millions of people whove already signed up for Threads — or the hundreds of millions to come — are likely to know about this rule before its too late. It just goes to show how the customers are very, very disempowered, says Jim Killock, executive director of the Open Rights Group. Its worth remembering that people have invested thousands and thousands of hours into building their networks on these platforms. We wouldnt tolerate this sort of behavior anywhere else.
Even those who hold no quarter for Metas approach to privacy may find certain GDPR regulations overly restrictive.
EU laws make it very difficult to roll out a product, because of how they handle data sharing outside of EU borders, Mendes says. In May, for example, Meta got handed
a colossal 1.3 billion Euro fine
for transferring EU citizens data to US servers, which is kind of required to operate a service.
Initially,
the Privacy Shield program
provided a framework for data transfer between the US and EU, but
the European Court of Justice struck it down
on July 16, 2020. A new
Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework
was agreed on in March, but hasnt been enacted yet.
Even if the EU has good reason to want to maintain legal control over its citizens data, Mendes says, its unduly difficult for global brands to keep all their data in one place, unless you create a copy of your product thats completely siloed and works in the EU, separate from the one that you have, lets say, in the United States, which is an engineering nightmare, because now you have to maintain two versions of your product.
Theres never a simple balance, Killock admits. Its about respecting the desires of customers on one hand, and on the other hand ensuring that companies can do business.
In some cases, he says, rules can help both regulators and users without being overly restrictive to companies. He points to the UKs
right to data portability law
as a way to foster competition, and naturally discourage Metas more unsavory practices. Whether were talking about moderation standards or privacy standards, it allows people escape routes, and that creates actual commercial pressure on these companies to behave better.
That, he thinks, will empower not just users but also regulators to say: Look, people dont like this practice, you shouldnt be doing it.

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Metas Rush to Topple Twitter Sets Up Looming Privacy Debate