• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, July 10, 2023

Meta’s new messaging app, Threads, reached 100 million signups/users by early July 10, five days after its launch, according to an estimate by Quiver Quantative.

The tracking service’s Threads estimates are being generated using the Threads account numbers shown on Instagram pages.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s last post on the numbers, on Friday, confirmed more than 70 million as of July 7 — “way beyond our expectations,” he posted on Threads.

That blows away ChatGPT’s of reaching 100 million signups/users within nearly two months of going live in November 2022, a record for a launch at the time.

Threads’ rapid growth has attracted numerous celebrities, along with more than a quarter of Congress’s 535 members as of Thursday evening, according to Axios. Many users have declared that they will, or already have, quit Twitter now that the Threads alternative is available.

Threads has also drawn the furor of a number of high-profile conservatives, who have accused the new platform of censoring their posts.

Stephen Miller, former adviser to Donald Trump, used Twitter to declare: “Conservatives need a unified response to 'Threads' and the well-funded effort to extinguish free speech in America.”

Others urged conservatives not to sign up for Threads, to show loyalty to Twitter, which has become a popular platform for the right since now-owner Elon Musk eliminated most content guardrails.

"Imagine leaving Twitter, the most free speech platform on the internet — owned and operated by one of the greatest free speech advocates of our time — to move to Threads, an app that is already engaging in the Censorship of Conservatives on day one," tweeted conservative commentator Benny Johnson. 

Threads, which is linked to Instagram, follows the same moderation policies. Meta, which has been moving away from news in general and politics in particular, has positioned Threads as a “friendly public space for conversation.”

Some tech watchers have pointed out that it may be difficult for Threads to turn users into daily users, particularly if it is offers little political controversy. 

However, at present, many posts criticizing Threads, claiming that it is censoring conservatives, and denouncing President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, can be readily found on Threads.

Threads is also generating anti-competitive concerns because of its ability to leverage its 2-billion-strong Instagram user base. That is particularly true in Europe, where Threads has yet to launch due to “complications” around the soon-to-be-implemented EU Digital Markets Act, such as its prohibition of transferring data from one platform to another without the user’s consent, or making use of one platform contingent on use of another.

Concerns about Meta’s possible use to use Threads-gathered data to develop its AI technology and catch up to Google and OpenAI are also being voiced.