This might help explain the spectacular launch of Threads

MusketeerX@lemmy.world to Fediverse@lemmy.world – 1736 points –

Automatically creating a shadow account for everyone on Instagram?

Even allowing people to follow that account?

Sounds like they really wanted to push Threads out the door in a big way.

260

You are viewing a single comment

They're doing some dodgy stuff with your data, that's for sure. But the sign-up is smooth. Instagram has a LOT of users, and Meta is leveraging that and making it super easy to share to IG that you have made said threads account (and if you don't, they will do it for you). The FOMO is real.

They have taken the biggest challenge to use a new social media platform, rebuilding your spidery web of follows, mutuals, weird interests, and friends, and made it basically transparent. It's a UX marvel. The sign-up numbers reflect that IMO.

Sharing data of users from one company to another company without their consent is literally what GDPR exists to stop. Instagram is one company. Threads is another company.

If it isn't oogie boogie then it literally wouldn't have massive legislation against it preventing it worldwide for eu citizens.

Is threads a separate company though? It's pretty explicit in saying "Threads an Instagram App"

In European law it doesn't matter. You try and bypass laws and the courts have none of it. It's very "fuck around find out". They already decided against them for antitrust for doing exactly that.

That was the ruling [PDF] from the European Union's highest court, the Court of Justice, when it upheld a decision by German antitrust regulators that Meta had abused its dominance in social media by milking users for information and swirling it together to serve up ads to users.

If you bypass shit in the EU they slap you with something else and make an example of you.

2 more...
2 more...
2 more...
2 more...