- Mark Zuckerberg Announces Over 10 Million Signups for Threads in First Few Hours
- Threads vs. Twitter: Meta’s New Platform Poses Significant Threat to Elon Musk’s Social Media Giant
- Privacy Concerns and Regulatory Hurdles: Challenges for Threads’ Expansion, Delay in European Release
Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive officer of the company, announced on Thursday that more than 10 million people signed up for Threads, Meta’s Twitter rival, within the first few hours of its launch.
The software launched on Wednesday at 2300GMT in 100 countries sans ads on Apple and Android app stores. However, its release in Europe has been delayed due to data privacy concerns.
Threads are the most significant threat to Elon Musk’s Twitter, which has seen several potential competitors arise but has not yet been supplanted as one of the world’s largest social media platforms.
“10 million signups in seven hours,” Zuckerberg wrote on Thursday on his official Threads account.
Accounts for celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, and Hugh Jackman, as well as media institutions such as The Washington Post and The Economist, were already active.
Zuckerberg also challenged Musk to a cage match. The two are longtime rivals.
Zuckerberg’s first tweet in over a decade was a meme of Spiderman waving at Spiderman, referencing Threads.
On Threads, he wrote, “It will take some time, but I believe there should be a public conversations app with more than one billion users. Twitter has had the chance to accomplish this but has not succeeded. We hope that we will.”
Twitter has reported that it has over 200 million daily users.
‘Be kind’
Instagram has nearly two billion users, so Threads was a natural spin-off.
Adam Mosseri, the CEO of Instagram, told users that Threads aimed to create “an open and friendly platform for conversations.”
“The best thing you can do if you want that, too, is to be kind,” he advised.
It is widely believed that Zuckerberg is taking advantage of Musk’s chaotic ownership of Twitter to force out the new product, which Meta hopes will become the platform of choice for celebrities, companies, and politicians.
“It’s as simple as that,” strategic financial analyst Brian Wieser said on Substack. “If an Instagram user with a large number of followers, such as Kardashian, Bieber, or Messi, begins posting regularly on Threads, a new platform could quickly flourish.”
Insider Intelligence analyst Jasmine Engberg stated that Threads only requires one in four Instagram monthly users “to become as popular as Twitter.”
“Twitter users are desperate for an alternative, and Musk has given Zuckerberg an opening,” she continued.
Musk’s limited content moderation has scared away celebrities and huge advertisers.
He has angered Twitter’s most devoted fans by announcing that access to its TweetDeck product, which enables users to view a rapid stream of tweets simultaneously, will be restricted to paying customers only.
EU ‘many months away
Meta has its legion of detractors, particularly in Europe, which could hinder the expansion of Threads.
The corporation has been criticised for how it handles personal data, which it uses to target ads and make billions.
Mosseri expressed regret that the European Union introduction was delayed, but if Meta had waited for regulatory clarity from Brussels, Threads would have been “many, many, many months away.”
“I was concerned that our window would close since timing is crucial,” he told the technology news website Platformer.
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, Meta was wary of a new law called the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which imposes stringent regulations on the “gatekeeper” internet companies of the world.
As could be the case between Threads and Instagram, one rule prohibits platforms from sharing user data across products.
Meta was caught doing this after buying WhatsApp, so European regulators will watch Threads.
Many Twitter users have joked that Musk’s platform will return.
“10 minute threads application. “I’m returning to Twitter,” a user wrote alongside a video of a man sprinting.
Others expressed privacy concerns.
A Japanese user tweeted, “Meta loves to collect private information, and I don’t trust how it handles private information.” “I also have the impression that the EU dislikes this company, so I’m hesitant.”
However, some stated that they would transfer permanently to Threads.
One user on Threads stated, “Now I can truly say goodbye to Twitter forever.”
