Twitter Contests Meta’s New App Threads, Alleging Imitation

Twitter has hinted at potential legal action against Meta Platforms, formerly known as Facebook. The social media giant has accused Meta of producing a “copycat” application, Threads, which strikingly mirrors Twitter. The claims have been spearheaded by Twitter’s executive chairman, Elon Musk, and the company’s legal representative, Alex Spiro.

Musk Voices Accusations

Elon Musk, the executive chairman of Twitter, has taken to social media to voice his criticism against Meta. He stated in a post that Meta is “cheating” by releasing Threads, a text-based social network that closely resembles Twitter. While Musk professed that he welcomes competition, he was stern in his stance against what he perceives as dishonest practices. This allegation comes in the wake of a formal letter sent by Twitter’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, to Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg.

Twitter’s Legal Threats

In the letter dated July 5, Spiro expressed Twitter’s readiness to “strictly enforce its intellectual property rights.” He called upon Meta to cease the use of Twitter’s trade secrets immediately. The letter pointed out that Meta hired ex-employees of Twitter who had access to confidential information, inclusive of Twitter’s trade secrets. It was also suggested that Meta used these employees to develop Threads, supposedly using Twitter’s trade secrets and intellectual property to expedite the competitor app’s creation.

In the same letter, Spiro emphasized that it also functions as a formal notice for Meta to retain any documentation pertinent to a potential dispute between the two companies, as well as any former Twitter employees that Meta currently employs.

Spiro further cautioned Meta against any scraping or crawling of Twitter’s followers or following data, noting that such activities were prohibited without prior consent from the company.

Meta’s Threads Rolled Out

Meta released Threads, its new text-based social network, in 100 countries on July 5, just days after Twitter’s rate limit fiasco where users’ ability to read posts was temporarily limited. The timing of Threads’ launch amid the dispute has added another layer of complexity to the growing conflict between these tech giants.

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