Turkiye: Issued Competition Authority interim injunction requiring Meta Platforms to stop merging data obtained through Threads and Instagram

On 18 March 2024, the Turkish Competition Authority (TCA) issued a temporary interim injunction in the investigation into META Platforms. The injunction was based on the suspicion that Meta may be abusing its dominant position by merging user data from Instagram accounts into Threads profiles without providing users with an option to consent. The TCA noted that Meta's extensive data accumulation over the years, combined with the large and diverse user base, has made its services attractive to advertisers, creating a barrier to entry for competitors and impeding their access to financial resources. As a result, a temporary measure has been put in place to prevent potential data merging between Instagram and Threads until the investigation is completed.