Meta Blocks People in the EU From Accessing Threads Via VPN

If you live in the EU and have been thinking of trying Threads using a VPN, don’t bother.

Threads is Meta’s version of Twitter; it launched last week and quickly amassed 100 million sign-ups since Meta made it easy to create (and hard to delete) a Threads account using an existing Instagram account.

None of those 100 million accounts were based in the European Union, however, given the region’s stricter data-usage laws. Usually when a service is blocked somewhere, the first thing to try is a virtual private network (VPN), but as noted by social media consultant Matt Navarra, Meta is blocking EU users from accessing Threads using a VPN.

Tweet(Opens in a new window)

A Meta spokesperson confirmed the move to PCMag: “Threads is not currently available in most countries in Europe and we’ve taken additional steps to prevent people based there from accessing it at this time. Europe continues to be an incredibly important market for Meta and we hope to make Threads available here in the future.”

Under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which went into effect in May, Meta would be prohibited from reusing a user’s personal data such as their name and location, across its products for targeted ads without that user’s expressed permission. That would prohibit Meta from using the information it gathers on Threads to advertise to a user on Instagram or Facebook.

The DMA also bans companies from prioritizing their own products on their platforms over the competition. The act of adverting for Threads on Facebook and Instagram and allowing a user to sign up for an account using their Instagram account could potentially be a problem for the company and be construed as showing a preference for Threads over rival Twitter, for instance.

The fines for violating the DMA also aren’t cheap. A company can be charged up to 10% of its annual revenue for violations of the DMA and 20% for repeated infringements.

Michael Kan contributed to this story.