Elon Musk’s Twitter is threatening legal action against Meta, just one day after the launch of its new app Threads.
Twitter is accusing Meta of poaching former Twitter employees to create the platform. Threads, a text-based platform similar to Twitter, has gained over 30 million sign-ups since its release.
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In a letter sent to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg by Twitter’s lawyer, Alex Spyro, the social media giant was accused of unlawfully misappropriating Twitter’s trade secrets and intellectual property.
“Twitter intends to strictly enforce its intellectual property rights, and demands that Meta take immediate steps to stop using any Twitter trade secrets or other highly confidential information,” Spiro wrote in the letter, which Semafor shared online.
“Twitter reserves all rights, including, but not limited to, the right to seek both civil remedies and injunctive relief without further notice to prevent any further retention, disclosure, or use of its intellectual property by Meta.”
The letter demanded that Meta immediately cease using any Twitter trade secrets or confidential information.
The lawyer further alleged that Meta had hired former Twitter employees who had access to Twitter’s trade secrets and confidential information.
These employees were supposedly assigned to develop a competing app using Twitter’s intellectual property, violating state and federal laws and their ongoing obligations to Twitter.
Andy Stone, Meta’s communications director responded to the letter via a post on Threads, denying that anyone on the Threads engineering team was a former Twitter employee.
She wrote: “To be clear: No one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee — that’s just not a thing.”
On Twitter, everyone’s voice matters.
Whether you’re here to watch history unfold, discover REAL-TIME information all over the world, share your opinions, or learn about others — on Twitter YOU can be real.
YOU built the Twitter community. 🙏👏 And that’s irreplaceable. This…
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayacc) July 6, 2023
However, Twitter remains determined to enforce its intellectual property rights against Meta.
Threads is one of several Twitter competitors that have gained traction. However, Twitter’s swift response to Threads suggests that it is viewed as the most significant rival to the platform.
While Musk is yet to speak on the matter, Twitter’s CEO Linda Yaccarino indirectly criticized the new app in a tweet, stating that the Twitter community cannot be duplicated.
Twitter, she wrote, “is often imitated — but the Twitter community can never be duplicated.”
Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, made his first tweet in a decade on Wednesday, moments following the launch of Threads.
He shared a Spiderman meme that humorously acknowledged the similarities between Threads and Twitter.
— Mark Zuckerberg (@finkd) July 6, 2023
With Twitter facing criticism for its decisions, there is a growing demand for alternative platforms.
Mastodon and Bluesky have generated buzz, but Threads has experienced rapid adoption rates, with over 30 million signups since its launch.
Threads is currently available on iOS and Android in 100 countries, excluding the EU due to concerns about data privacy regulations.
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Users must authenticate using their existing Instagram login credentials to access Threads, which will then populate with their Instagram details such as name, followers, username, and photo.
The legal battle between Twitter and Meta highlights the competitive landscape in the social media industry and the importance of protecting intellectual property rights.
