Meta Platforms Inc., Temporarily Closes Threads In Turkey

Threads, temporarily closed in Turkey starting April 29 (photo: x @meta)

JAKARTA - Meta Platforms announced that it will temporarily shut down their social media platform, Threads, in Turkey from April 29 to comply with the interim orders of Turkish competition authorities. However, the company insists that there will be no impact on Meta's social media platforms and other services, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp in Turkey.

Last month, the country's competition authorities imposed temporary measures against Meta, Facebook's parent company, which is meant to hinder data exchanges between the Instagram platform and Threads as they investigate the possible abuse of the company's dominant market position.

Threads, a social media app launched by Meta, officially comes on July 6, 2023 on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. In less than five days, Threads has recorded more than 100 million users12. This is a new record as the fastest growing app, beating OpenAI's ChatGPT, which hit 100 million users within two months of release.

The Threads app allows users to upload up to 500 characters and has many features similar to Twitter. While currently Threads has not been rolled out thoroughly in the European Union due to EU data privacy laws, this app is attracting users' attention and can be an alternative for those unhappy with policy changes on the Twitter platform.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, hopes Threads can become a public conversation platform with more than a billion users on board, although he realizes that a journey to success will take time.