Meta's Threads Expands Presence to European Markets

Users in the European Union can now access Threads on Thursday, posing a potential threat to X from a competing platform. The launch in Europe was hinted at earlier in the week with an unnamed countdown timer for EU residents visiting the site. Meta, headed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, introduced Threads in July as a counterpart to Facebook and Instagram, directly challenging X as a platform for short-form text content.

Many individuals have been eagerly anticipating the launch of Threads EU online, with some European users expressing their excitement for the availability of its competitor on X. Meta leaders have attributed the delay in launching in Europe to the need to comply with unique regulatory requirements in the region.

Despite the absence of European users, Threads saw significant growth and reached approximately 100 million monthly active users as of October, as mentioned by Zuckerberg during an earnings call that month. This growth can be partially attributed to X users seeking alternative platforms due to dissatisfaction with Elon Musk's unpredictable and controversial decision-making as the owner of X.

Elon Musk, left, and Alex Jones.

Reuters

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Threads stands out as a welcoming and unified community, successfully catering to users' needs. However, some have suggested improvements to facilitate easier access to desired news and communities. The potential mass migration from X to Threads poses a new obstacle for the platform, formerly known as Twitter, which is already grappling with advertiser departure due to hate speech concerns and the promotion of fringe ideologies by Musk.

Zuckerberg has expressed his goal of expanding Threads to over 1 billion users globally in the near future. Although the platform is still far from reaching this milestone, the launch in the EU brings it closer to that target. Threads made a strong debut in July during a challenging time for X, quickly gaining millions of user signups. However, user engagement decreased as users expressed dissatisfaction with its basic features.

However, the launch on Thursday serves as a reminder of Meta's ongoing efforts to expand and improve the app, leading to a consistent increase in its daily user base. In addition to the Threads launch, the platform has introduced various enhancements such as a desktop version, a following feed, and most recently, topic tags, which simplify the process of finding content related to specific subjects without displaying the hashtag symbol.

Instagrams head Adam Mosseri, who is also running Threads, said Tuesday that the company plans to extend fact checking on Threads in the new year.