The Competition Board concluded its investigation into Meta Platforms Inc.’s data sharing via Instagram and Threads applications in Turkey, with the acceptance of the commitments offered by the company. This decision brought about significant changes for Meta’s operations in Turkey. In particular, offering Threads to users as an independent platform aims to address concerns about data sharing. Thus, there is no obstacle to reopening Threads, which has been closed since the end of April.
Competition Board’s investigation and Meta’s commitments
In November last year, an investigation was launched on the grounds that Meta combined user data by connecting Instagram and Threads applications and that this limited competition. The Competition Board decided to impose a daily administrative fine of 4.8 million TL on Meta in accordance with Article 6 of the Law on the Protection of Competition No. 4054. During this process, Meta took various steps to comply with regulatory requirements. In a statement made in April, it was announced that the Threads application would be temporarily closed in Turkey as of April 29.
During this period, Meta submitted a new commitment text to the Competition Board regarding data sharing between applications and merging of user accounts. In the statement made today by the Board, it was stated that the commitments offered by Meta were sufficient to resolve the competition problems. Accordingly, when the Threads application is re-launched in Turkey, users will be able to use Threads through a completely independent profile, without being connected to their Instagram accounts. In addition, it was promised that the data obtained through Threads of users who did not choose to merge their accounts would not be shared with Instagram.
The Competition Board’s decision to make these commitments offered by Meta binding is considered an important gain for social media users in Turkey. In particular, the fact that users experience Threads as an independent platform and have control over which platforms their data is shared with is a remarkable step in terms of digital rights. This situation also sets an example for technology companies to reconsider their obligations regarding data privacy.
In the Competition Board’s decision, opinions were included that these regulations, which will be valid as of the date when the Threads application will be re-activated in Turkey, will increase user satisfaction. In addition, it was stated that users whose accounts are currently suspended can start using Threads without the need for an Instagram account.