The long-awaited instant messaging service Threads by the Facebook conglomerate Meta launches on Thursday in the European Union. Since Friday, the countdown to the app's release has adorned the Threads website, which expires around noon Central European Time. As an alternative to Elon Musk's online platform X (formerly known as Twitter), Meta first launched the service in July.

The EU was initially omitted. Instead, the company cited "legal uncertainties" as the reason, regarding the "new digital laws". Industry observers suspect that this refers to the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA) twin-pack. The automatic linking of user data from Instagram and Threads could potentially be problematic.

Since Elon Musk took over Twitter and turned it into X, the online platform has seen declining user numbers, according to market researchers. Several competitors now see their chance to connect with alternatives to the former significance of Twitter. In particular, the short messaging service Threads is often considered a promising challenger.

With several hundred million users already interconnected on Meta's photo and video platform Instagram, Threads has a decisive advantage.

The Meta stock is showing strong pre-market performance on the NASDAQ and is temporarily up 0.31 percent to $335.78. Investors seem optimistic about the success of Threads and the potential growth of the Facebook corporation in digital markets.

With the launch of Threads in the European Union, Meta expands its range of digital services and promises users an exciting alternative to established platforms like Twitter. The connection with Instagram and the integration of new features make Threads a promising competitor in the market.