Meta Goes After Twitter Users, EU Regulators Go After Meta

As Meta Platforms META continues on its identity quest that began when it repositioned itself away from being a social media company Facebook to a metaverse platform creator, it went back to social media by launching a Twitter copycat that became the most popular alternative to Twitter in just one day, gathering 10 million users.

Meta launches Threads By being linked to existing Instagram accounts, Threads has potential base of more than 100 million users in the US alone. Meta’s launch of its text-based conversation app with a simple interface coincides with deeply criticized changes at Twitter that Elon Musk made since taking helm, such as limiting viewed tweets. Copycats are certainly not a new strategy at Meta as it already followed the footsteps of Snap SNAP-owned Snapchat and TikTok by adding their features on Instagram to drive engagement. However, if Threads succeeds to lure in Twitter’s userbase that is estimated to be a bit under 400 million, it will be adding fuel to the content moderation argument and antitrust regulatory hostility.

Meta Loses The Personal Data Fight Against EU Regulators

Meta’s Facebook is being sanctioned for the way it uses data for online advertising as the EU’s top court ruled that competition regulators are allowed to question if companies respect privacy rules. On Tuesday, EU regulators ruled that Facebook “cannot justify” how it uses personal data to target users with ads, unless they obtain their approval. As personal data is the essence of Facebook’s business model, the German Federal Cartel Office finds this ruling will have “far-reaching” consequences for the data economy. Simply speaking, this ruling has strengthened the power of antitrust regulators to go after the business models of some of the largest tech companies such as even Alphabet Inc GOOG-owned Google as data owning is what their market power is built upon. Back in 2019, German regulators used its power to prevent Meta from merging its Facebook and WhatsApp data to target their users with ads. This was a game-changing move for the digital ad economy despite Meta arguing that the regulatory watchdog has mixed the privacy law with antitrust rules. It seems that Meta will be required to make another set of changes in its maneuvering of users’ data.

Game changing rules for the digital ad business On Tuesday, Financial Times reported there was also a discussion on ways to enhance the collaboration between regulators to ease the sharing of information such as fees for privacy breaches which would facilitate consensus-building and reduce the risk of disagreements. 

Meta's Direction Remains Unclear

Whatever the fate of Threads, the Twitter killer, it won’t be making much of a difference to Meta’s bottom line and it won’t bring the company closer to turning Zuckerberg’s metaverse concept into a digital reality. But, considering the timing, it can reinforce Meta’s position in the social media universe. On the other hand, regulatory tightening can certainly curb its activities.

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