To comply with an interim order of the Rekabet Kurumu/Turkish Competition Authority (TCA), we will shut down Threads in Türkiye from Monday 29 April. We know this will be very disappointing for the many people in Türkiye who engage on Threads with their community. We are taking steps to minimise any disruption as much as possible, including:

• Everyone using Threads in Türkiye will be notified of this decision within the Threads app before 29 April. 
• People using Threads in Türkiye can choose whether to deactivate but not delete their Threads profile, or to delete their profile. 
• If a person chooses to deactivate their profile, then users’ posts and interactions with other people’s posts will become visible again if Threads returns to Türkiye.
• People with deactivated profiles can download their posts and preserve their existing content through our Download Your Information tool at any time. 

This Follows an Interim Decision by the TCA

The TCA recently issued an interim order prohibiting the sharing of data between Threads and Instagram. We disagree with the interim order, we believe we are in compliance with all Turkish legal requirements, and we will appeal. The TCA’s interim order leaves us with no choice but to temporarily shut down Threads in Türkiye. We will continue to constructively engage with the TCA and hope to bring Threads back to people in Türkiye as quickly as possible.

Turkish translation Threads’i Türkiye’de geçici olarak durduracağız Önemli Noktalar

• Türk Rekabet Kurumu’nun geçici tedbir kararı kapsamında, 29 Nisan’dan itibaren Threads’i Türkiye’de geçici olarak kapatacağız
• Türkiye’de Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp veya diğer Meta hizmetleri ile diğer ülkelerde Threads kullanımı bundan etkilenmeyecek.
• Türkiye’de Threads’i kullanan kişiler için oluşabilecek aksaklıkları en aza indirmek için gerekli adımları atıyoruz.

Türk Rekabet Kurumu’nun geçici tedbir kararı kapsamında, 29 Nisan Pazartesi gününden itibaren Threads’i Türkiye’de geçici olarak durduracağız. Türkiye’de topluluklarıyla Threads’de etkileşim kuranlar için bu kararın son derece üzücü olacağının farkındayız. Oluşabilecek aksaklıkları en aza indirmek için aşağıdakiler dahil olmak üzere gerekli adımları atıyoruz:

• Türkiye’de Threads’i kullanan herkes, 29 Nisan’dan önce Threads uygulamasında bu karar hakkında bilgilendirilecek.
• Türkiye’de Threads’i kullananlar Threads profillerini silmeden dondurabilecek ya da profillerini tamamen silebilecek.
• Threads tekrar Türkiye’ye döndüğü takdirde, profilini dondurmayı seçen kişilerin gönderileri ve başkalarının gönderileriyle olan etkileşimleri tekrar görünür olacak.
• Profillerini donduran kişiler diledikleri zaman Bilgilerini İndir aracı üzerinden gönderilerini indirebilecek ve mevcut içeriklerini muhafaza edebilecek.

Bunu Rekabet Kurumu’nun geçici tedbir kararı nedeniyle yapıyoruz

Rekabet Kurumu, yakınlarda Threads ile Instagram arasında veri paylaşımını yasaklayan bir geçici tedbir kararı yayınladı. Bu geçici tedbir kararına katılmamakla birlikte, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti’nin tüm hukuki şartlarına uyduğumuza inanıyoruz ve bu karara itiraz edeceğiz. Rekabet Kurumu’nun geçici tedbir kararı, bize Türkiye’de Threads’i geçici olarak durdurmak dışında hiçbir seçenek bırakmıyor. Rekabet Kurumu ile yapıcı bir şekilde iletişim kurmaya devam edeceğiz ve Threads’i Türkiye’deki insanlara mümkün olan en kısa sürede tekrar sunmayı umuyoruz.

The post We Will Temporarily Shut Down Threads in Türkiye appeared first on Meta.

Of all the ways in which metaverse technologies like virtual, mixed and augmented reality could prove to be transformative, the potential they have for education is one of the most exciting. 

For most of us, learning is social – we learn from and with others, and from each other’s experiences. It’s about interaction and discussion as much as it is about absorbing facts. That’s why the unique feeling of presence and immersion these technologies create can be so impactful in education.

They also make things possible that are impossible in the physical world. Instead of telling students what the dinosaurs were like, they can walk among them. Virtual science laboratories can be built and filled with equipment that most schools would never be able to afford. Classes can go on field trips to the best museums, no matter how far away they are. And they can be used to take the risk out of otherwise dangerous or expensive technical or vocational training.

Last year, I wrote about some of the ingenious ways teachers and trainers were already using these technologies. That momentum has continued to build, with more and more colleges and institutions incorporating them into their curriculums. For example:

• New Mexico State University is teaching criminal justice by immersing students in virtual crime scenes to learn how to best investigate.
• Stanford University is using virtual reality to teach its Business School students soft skills, like how to have a difficult conversation or how to nail an interview.
• The University of Glasgow is teaching life sciences by placing students inside virtual intestines, to see how the body battles bacteria.

There is also a growing research base showing that learning in VR can improve students’ performance, as well as their levels of engagement, attendance and satisfaction. In 2022, Morehouse College reported that students who learned in VR had an average final test score of 85, versus 78 in person. A survey by the XR Association found that 77% of educators believe these technologies ignite curiosity and improve engagement in class.

To make it easier for educators, later this year Meta will be launching a new product offering for Quest devices dedicated to education, just as last year’s Meta Quest for Business was designed for the workplace. It will allow teachers, trainers and administrators to access a range of education-specific apps and features, and make it possible for them to manage multiple Quest devices at once, without the need for each device in a classroom or training environment to be updated and prepared individually. This will save teachers time and allow students to pick up the headsets and get started right away – something that educators using our devices have consistently told us they want.

Education and training providers represent a considerable market for technology products, and we see a growing number of developers building and releasing apps aimed at this sector. While it is still early days for the use of immersive technologies in these settings, we think there’s scope for them to be adopted on a much wider scale. 

The product’s name and features will be announced in the coming months. At launch, we plan to make the product available in our Quest for Business supported markets to institutions serving learners aged 13+.

The new product is the result of extensive consultation and collaboration with educators, researchers and third-party developers working in the education space around the world. We want it to be something that makes it easier for students to learn, apply and practice new skills; feel a sense of presence with teachers and classmates; and to visit places or experience things that would otherwise be impossible. Above all, we want it to help teachers do what they do best: teach. We will continue to learn from them so we can keep improving and make sure Meta Quest headsets are the best devices, at the best value, to bring their classes to life.

The post New Education Product for Quest Devices Will Help Teachers Bring Subjects to Life in New Ways appeared first on Meta.