Threads: Meta sets out planned new features 🆕  11 July 2023

Threads: Meta sets out planned new features 🆕

The article from BBC News discusses the planned new features for Threads, an app built by Instagram, which is owned by Meta. According to Instagram boss Adam Mosseri, Threads is considering adding an alternative home feed that shows posts in chronological order from the people each user follows. This is in response to user frustration over the current mix of recommended content and posts from followed accounts.

Other features on the list include the ability to edit posts, translation into different languages, and making it easier to switch between different Threads accounts. There are also plans to create a desktop interface and a more robust search function. However, the only way to fully delete a Threads profile currently is to delete the associated Instagram account, an issue the company is looking to fix.

Meta also announced plans to make Threads compatible with other social media platforms, such as Mastodon, using a system known as the fediverse. This has been met with resistance, with over a hundred Mastodon communities joining the "fedipact" - an agreement to block Meta from accessing their community under any circumstances.

Finally, the article mentions that there is currently no advertising on Threads, but this may change in the future.

bbc.co.uk  

Here’s why Threads is delayed in Europe 🐌

The Verge reports that the launch of Meta's new app, Threads, has been delayed in the European Union due to "upcoming regulatory uncertainty," likely referring to the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA). Threads, a competitor to Twitter, gained over 100 million users in less than a week after launching in more than 100 countries, including the US and UK.

The DMA, passed last year, includes new rules aimed at preventing companies defined as "gatekeepers" from abusing their market power. These companies, which include Meta, Google, and TikTok, were formally designated as gatekeepers earlier this month, giving them six months to prepare before any enforcement actions could take place.

The DMA prevents companies like Meta from reusing a user's personal data across its products for targeted advertising without user consent. This could pose a problem for Threads, which collects a wide array of sensitive data, including health and location data, a user's contacts, and search history.

Another potential issue for Threads is the DMA's ban on "self-preferencing," where gatekeepers provide more favorable treatment to their own products on its platforms over that of its competitors. Threads' immediate success can be attributed to its connection with Instagram, as users must connect their Instagram accounts and use the same account names to create a Threads account.

The DMA allows for fines of up to 10 percent of a company's annual revenue for violations and up to 20 percent for repeated infringements. Despite these challenges, Meta has not indicated it will forgo a European launch. The EU is expected to provide more guidance to companies this fall.

theverge.com