Meta has since switched to a claim of legitimate interest for this data-for-ads processing. But it does raise questions over whether Threads will be able to launch in the European Union where the legal basis Meta had claimed for processing Facebook users’ personal data (performance of a contract) was found unlawful at the start of this year. Given that Meta, the developer behind the app, the company formerly known as Facebook, makes its money from tracking and profiling web users to sell their attention via its behavioral advertising microtargeting tools this is hardly surprising. Information provided about the app’s privacy via mandatory disclosures required on iOS shows the app may collect highly sensitive information about users in order to profile their digital activity - including health and financial data, precise location, browsing history, contacts, search history and other sensitive information. Meta’s planned Twitter killer, Threads, isn’t yet publicly available but it already looks like a privacy nightmare.
