A massive and relevant marketing market might be off-limits thanks to regulations in the EU. The European Union has not yet allowed the new Twitter-alternative social media app, Threads, to be released.
As such, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri took to Instagram to give users who are looking to download the app in affected countries an update, saying:
“Unfortunately, for support in the EU, to make sure that we’re compliant with laws that are coming in 2024 it’s just going to take a while. I wish it wasn’t. I’ve been living outside the US for a year now, and I think we need to be way less US-centric as a team. I’ve been pushing for that in a really big way. But it just turns out that in order to make sure that we can verify all the things we need to do to be compliant, it’s just going to take many months, unfortunately.”
The EU, for their part, are highly sceptical of the data absorption and retention on the Threads app and are planning on expanding the requirements of the EU Digital Markets Act in 2024, causing Meta, the umbrella company for the app, some issues in distributing the app.
Despite this, the app has gained rapid popularity, reaching 150 million as of writing, in just two weeks. A portion of those downloads are due to EU citizens using a VPN to access the app, however, Meta has now shut that down, blocking access to anyone using a VPN in the region.
This is worrying for affiliate marketers as, if this app continues to be as popular as its initial two weeks suggest, it could be a valuable asset blocked to creators in the EU. If you need a reminder, the EU currently makes up 27 countries in Europe, including Germany, France, Spain, and Italy – all some of the biggest social media markets in the continent.
