Threads already has over 30 million users. But I’m not one of them

I was musing yesterday about how the app would go down with the EU’s antitrust authorities and, according to reports, the EU’s incoming Digital Markets Act is indeed the problem—specifically, the new antitrust law’s ban on “gatekeepers” like Meta mixing data between multiple core services without the user’s explicit consent. Threads is a stand-alone app, but it requires an Instagram account (more on that later) and automatically draws on a user’s Instagram connections. So for now, no Threads for us Europeans.

This is starting to be a familiar feeling, after Google recently held back from launching its Bard chatbot in the EU over uncertainty that it complies with the bloc’s General Data Protection Regulation.

Speaking personally, both of these developments are annoying from a professional standpoint but otherwise not the end of the world—for now. I’d like to play with Bard, but generative A.I. has no place in any of my daily processes or routines yet. I’d also like to try Threads, but as I never boarded the Instagram train I would be starting from scratch there anyway, and there are plenty of other new social networks where I can do that. I greatly appreciate the protection of the EU’s tough competition and privacy laws, but it’s becoming apparent that Europe is not the place to be these days for an early adopter.

That said, Threads is off to a flying start elsewhere, having already amassed over 30 million users. The early reviews are mixed. Here’s Kari Paul for the Guardian:

“Meta’s clone of Twitter does feel like, well, using Twitter. The features—likes, retweets, following—are nearly identical to its long-standing microblog predecessor. However, with Twitter getting clunkier and progressively less usable since Musk took it over, opening an app and actually being able to see and engage with content smoothly felt like a breath of fresh air.”

And the Washington Post’s Geoffrey Fowler and Naomi Nix:

“Threads…comes with Meta baggage, including privacy, moderation, and algorithmic feed practices that have turned many people off Zuckerberg’s other social networks such as Facebook. For example: From the moment you first log in to Threads, it starts showing you recommended posts from accounts and brands you don’t necessarily follow—or necessarily even care to see.”

Apart from the early analyses, two details have caught the eye of this tech-regulation nerd:

—Once you’ve joined Threads, deleting your profile there also means deleting your Instagram account. That’s just plain annoying, and also a potential antitrust and data protection issue.

—Threads’ promised compatibility with the ActivityPub protocol isn’t available at the start, which is seemingly a function of the speed at which the Instagram team seized the opportunity to capitalize on Twitter’s implosion. As I mentioned yesterday, allowing Threads to interoperate with other ActivityPub-friendly platforms, such as Mastodon, will be music to the ears of antitrust regulators.

More news below.

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David Meyer

NEWSWORTHY

Canada stops advertising on Facebook and Insta. Outraged by Meta’s decision to block news on Facebook and Instagram in Canada—a response to a new law requiring Big Tech to pay news providers for carrying their content—the Canadian government has suspended all of its advertising on the platforms. Google has also promised to stop carrying links to Canadian news articles because of the law, but CBC reports that, unlike Meta, Google is “open to finding a solution.”

Google Pixel chip delayed. Google was going to release a “fully customized chip” for its Pixel phones next year, but the rollout is now pushed back to 2025, The Information reports. So the company will stick with Samsung’s semi-custom chips for now.

Job cuts cut. A drop in the number of tech jobs cut last month contributed to a near halving of total U.S. layoffs in June, compared with May. However, tech is still where most layoffs are happening. Overall, Reuters reports, the U.S. tech sector announced the axing of 141,516 roles in the first half of 2023.

ON OUR FEED

“It’ll take some time, but I think there should be a public conversations app with 1 billion+ people on it. Twitter has had the opportunity to do this but hasn’t nailed it. Hopefully we will.”

—Mark Zuckerberg setting out his ambition for Threads, on Threads

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Has the ChatGPT bubble burst? A.I. sensation sees traffic fall for the first time, by Nicholas Gordon

TikTok is now paying creators for long-form content, and it’s going shockingly well, by Alexandra Sternlicht

Crypto lender Cred collapsed in 2020 after pulling in $135 million from customers. Its shady dealings foreshadowed FTX’s downfall—but regulators didn’t notice, by Jessica Klein

Mark Zuckerberg is trying to disrupt Elon Musk, but maybe he can’t—a new paper on the social media space breaks down 5 key challenges, by Stephen Pastis

An ancient language with nearly a million undeciphered texts just got a translator that does the job in seconds: A.I., by Rachel Shin

Tech CEO Bryan Johnson reveals he eats his final meal of the day at 11 a.m. as part of his multimillion-dollar goal to reverse his biological age to 18, by Eleanor Pringle

BEFORE YOU GO

Fairphone hits the U.S. The Dutch smartphone manufacturer Fairphone will finally start selling its handset in the U.S., with the price set at $599, according to Ars Technica. Fairphone’s Android devices are notable for being modular and therefore (relatively) easily repairable by users.

It’s an angle that has taken the Fairphone through to its fourth iteration, since the social enterprise’s inception a decade ago. Notably, Nokia has now also started releasing phones where users can swap out certain, albeit fewer, components. However, U.S. buyers should note that their version of the Fairphone 4 will come preloaded with the utterly Google-free “/e/” fork of Android, with open-source alternatives to the standard Google services that come on the European version.