Meta temporarily shuts down Threads in Turkey upon competition authority order

Meta Platforms has temporarily shut down its text-sharing platform Threads in Turkey, following the state competition authority's interim decision, fining parent company Meta to 672 million liras to prevent data sharing between Instagram and Threads.

Monday April 15 2024 08:10 pm

Reuters

Meta Platforms on April 15 said it would temporarily shut down its social media platform Threads in Turkey from April 29 to comply with an interim order of the Turkish competition authority.

There would be no impact on Meta's other social media platforms and services including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp in Turkey, the company said in a blog post.

Last month, the country's competition authority imposed an interim measure on Facebook parent Meta meant to hinder data sharing between the Instagram and Threads platforms as it investigated possible abuse of the company's dominant market position.

The announcement by Meta said that it disagreed with the interim decision, and would appeal the decision.

"We believe we are in compliance with all Turkish legal requirements," read the statement.

The platform would engage with the competition authority, "hoping" to reactivate Threads in Turkey.