Twitter is reportedly contemplating legal recourse against Meta, the parent company of Instagram, due to its recently launched app, Threads, which is gaining rapid popularity as a “friendly” alternative to Twitter. Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter, emphasized that “competition is fine, cheating is not,” while Meta denies allegations that former Twitter employees were involved in Threads’ development.
Although Meta claims that Threads has garnered over 70 million users, it still represents a fraction of Twitter’s estimated 350 million user base. Threads benefitted from tapping into Meta’s existing two billion monthly users on Instagram, while Twitter took four years to accumulate a similar user count from scratch.
BBC News technology reporter James Clayton highlighted the notable similarities between Threads and Twitter, including the look and functionality of the news feed and reposting features. However, Twitter would need to prove infringement of its intellectual property, such as programming code, to succeed in court, as US copyright law doesn’t protect ideas.
Twitter attorney Alex Spiro, in a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, accused Meta of “systematic, willful, and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property” during the development of Threads. Spiro alleged that former Twitter employees, hired by Meta, had access to confidential information, enabling the creation of the “copycat” Threads app.
Twitter intends to assert its intellectual property rights and demands that Meta immediately cease using any confidential information. The letter states that Twitter reserves the right to seek civil remedies and injunctive relief. BBC News reached out to both companies for comments.
Elon Musk responded on Twitter, stating, “Competition is fine, cheating is not.” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone denied the involvement of former Twitter employees in Threads’ engineering team.
The Threads launch sparked rivalry between Meta and Twitter, with Zuckerberg breaking over 11 years of Twitter silence to post a popular meme of two Spider-Man figures in a standoff. Musk retorted, “It is infinitely preferable to be attacked by strangers on Twitter than indulge in the false happiness of hide-the-pain Instagram.”
Both Meta and Twitter have undergone significant layoffs, with Meta planning a reduction of approximately 10,000 employees and Twitter experiencing substantial staff cuts following Musk’s takeover last year.
-BBC-
