Turkiye’s competition board to fine Meta $37.2 million in data-sharing probe

Users will be able to merge personal data between Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp with their own consent and will be notified about data usage. (AFP/File)
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Updated 09 May 2024
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Turkiye’s competition board to fine Meta $37.2 million in data-sharing probe

  • The board launched an investigation into Meta in December over a possible violation of competition law
  • Last month Meta said it would temporary shut down Threads to comply with interim measure

ISTANBUL: Turkey’s competition board fined Meta Platforms 1.2 billion lira ($37.20 million) on Wednesday after concluding two separate investigations on data-sharing in its Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads platforms.

The board launched an investigation into Meta in December over a possible violation of competition law by linking its social media platforms Threads and Instagram. The board in March imposed an interim measure on Meta meant to hinder data sharing between those two platforms.

Meta said last month it would temporarily shut down Threads in Turkey to comply with the interim order.

The board said on Wednesday it imposed a fine of 898 million lira for the compliance process and the investigations launched into Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, as well as an additional 336 million lira fine for a separate investigation into Threads.

Users will be able to merge personal data between Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp with their own consent and will be notified about data usage, according to the board decision. Users will be able to change their settings later, if needed, using an “accounts centre” on the platforms, it said.

In January, the board also fined Meta $160,000 per day for failing to provide sufficient documentation as part of another previous investigation. It had also imposed a daily fine of 4.8 million lira per day in March over a notification message about data-sharing.

Both those penalties ended May 3.

In 2022, the board also decided to fine Meta 346.72 million lira for violating competition law.


Book by jailed Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti set for November release

Updated 03 February 2026
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Book by jailed Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti set for November release

  • Prison letters, photographs and other documents to feature in the book

DUBAI: A new book by jailed Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti is set for publication in November, with Penguin confirmed as the publisher, The Guardian reported.

Titled “Unbroken: In Pursuit of Freedom for Palestine,” the book brings together a selection of Barghouti’s writings, including prison letters, interviews, public statements, conversations with public figures, and other documents and photographs.

It also features excerpts from his book “1,000 Days in Solitary Confinement,” which has so far only been published in Arabic.

Fadwa Barghouti, who wrote the introduction to the book, said she hoped it would allow the world to hear her husband “in his own voice, not through the noise surrounding him.”

She said in a statement: “This book finally makes that possible — and I hope it helps people understand who Marwan Barghouti truly is, and how he embodies the Palestinian struggle for freedom and dignity.”

Barghouti, who has spent over two decades in Israeli prison, is a member of the Fatah party. He has long advocated a two-state solution and is widely regarded as a powerful and unifying voice for Palestinians, with many supporters describing him as “Palestine’s Mandela.”

His detention has prompted repeated international advocacy efforts over the years.

In December 2025, an open letter calling for his release was signed by hundreds of celebrities, including Margaret Atwood, Philip Pullman, Zadie Smith and Annie Ernaux; actors Sir Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Josh O’Connor, Mark Ruffalo and Stephen Fry; and musicians Sting, Paul Simon, Brian Eno and Annie Lennox.

In November 2025, his family and several UK-based human rights advocates ran a campaign that included demonstrations and public art installations in Palestine and London.

Barghouti has been jailed by Israel since 2004, having been handed five life sentences plus 40 years for his role during the second Palestinian uprising. He has spent significant time in solitary confinement, has been denied visits by his family for three years, and has been denied access to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

His name was on a list of prisoners to be exchanged for Israeli captives in October 2025, but Israel declined to release him.