Headquarters announced Threads, a rival to X (formerly Twitter) that originally launched in July 2023, will shut down on April 29 for users based in Turkey. This is due to Decree of the Turkish Competition Authority (TCA) prohibiting the sharing of data between Threads and Instagram, which Threads has been linked to since its launch.

Meta goes on to state that there will be no disruption to any of its other services such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp while Threads is taken offline, and that it will “take steps to minimize disruption to people using Threads in Turkey.” These steps include:

• Anyone using Threads in Turkey will be notified of this decision in the Threads app before April 29.
• People using Threads in Turkey can choose whether to cancel but not delete their Threads profile, or delete their profile.
• If a person chooses to disable their profile, then users’ posts and interactions with other people’s posts will become visible again if threads return to Turkey.
• People with disabled profiles can download their posts and preserve their existing content using the Download Your Information tool at any time.

Meta said it disagrees with the order, believes it meets all relevant legal requirements of Turkey, and that it will appeal the decision. However, the interim order leaves it no choice but to take Threads offline while it continues to have “constructive engagement” with TCA to return Threads to users in Turkey.

Threads has faced issues since launch due to the nature of its links with Instagram, including the fact that profiles were originally unable to be deleted independently of Instagram. The app didn’t launch in the EU until five months later due to ensuring compliance with the region’s Digital Market Act (DMA).