Meta Platforms integrates threads more strongly into the Fediverse
Meta demonstrates the Fediverse using threads. Reactions and replies to linked Threads posts are also visible on Mastodon, Instagram and the like.
(Image: Primakov/Shutterstock.com)
Meta Platforms is taking a further step in the development of the so-called Fediverse, the network of independent social networks. From now on, users of the short messaging service Threads can also see reactions and replies posted on other platforms such as Instagram or Mastodon in Threads itself. This is now also possible in over 100 countries around the world.
Previously, Threads users who shared their posts for publication on other platforms such as Mastodon and Instagram were unable to view the reactions and replies posted there in Threads itself. Users therefore had to visit the other platforms to stay up to date. This is no longer necessary, but it is still not possible to reply to responses posted on other platforms in Threads itself.
(Image: Meta Platforms)
Threads by Meta only opened up to the Fediverse in March of this year. However, the connection was initially only possible for accounts in the USA, Canada and Japan, so this was previously quite limited. However, Meta has now released the Fediverse link in over 100 countries so that operators of open Threads profiles can activate the Fediverse link for their accounts.
Fediverse in the EU still without Threads
Meta did not say which countries this applies to in detail, but according to initial reactions from Threads users to the corresponding post by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, countries in the EU are still excluded, at least for now. Meta's Twitter alternative Threads has also been available in the EU since the end of 2023, but some platforms have recently delayed the introduction of new functions due to stricter requirements of the Digital Services Act (DSA) regarding youth and data protection. The EU Commission recently initiated proceedings against Meta for violating the protection of minors.
The social networks are connected to the Fediverse via the underlying ActivityPub protocol. The largest and best-known service in the Fediverse is Mastodon; this short messaging service has benefited as a Twitter alternative from the takeover of the big role model by Elon Musk. In the fall of 2022, users flocked from Twitter to Mastodon, bringing the Fediverse into the public eye.
The blogging platform Ghost, with tens of millions of accounts, is also joining the Fediverse and, in its recent announcement, compared ActivityPub to email, the internet's largest open protocol. The move underlines once again that ActivityPub is attracting more and more attention, especially in the USA, and could move away from its focus on the Twitter alternative Mastodon.
(fds)