Twitter Threatens Legal Action Against Meta’s New Text App ‘Threads’
Twitter has reportedly taken legal action against social media giant Meta over its newly launched text app, Threads. According to US media reports, Twitter’s legal representative, Alex Spiro, sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday, accusing the company of hiring Twitter employees to create a “copycat” app and stealing Twitter’s trade secrets and intellectual property.
In the letter, Spiro stated that Twitter intends to strictly enforce its intellectual property rights and issued a formal notice to Meta to preserve all relevant documents in anticipation of possible legal action. The allegations have prompted a response from Meta, with spokesperson Andy Stone denying that any former Twitter employees were involved in the creation of Threads.
Meanwhile, Twitter’s response to media inquiries about the issue came in the form of a poop emoji, which is known to be the standard automated response for journalists seeking comments from the company. This response has been seen as a reflection of the company’s unconventional approach under the leadership of billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk.
The battle between Musk and Zuckerberg continues, with Musk’s acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion in 2022 and his subsequent influence causing Twitter to struggle in retaining its user base. Musk has yet to publicly comment on the situation, and Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino simply tweeted, “We’re often imitated — but the Twitter community can never be duplicated.”
Threads, created by Meta’s Instagram employees, was launched on Wednesday night and has already gained millions of users within just 24 hours. With users seeking alternatives to Twitter due to Musk’s controversial behavior, Meta’s timing seems opportune in gaining more market share.
Former US President Donald Trump’s Truth Social, however, has not attracted many users, leaving room for Zuckerberg and Meta to make their mark. It is worth noting that some projects under Meta’s parent company, formerly known as Facebook, have faced challenges and ultimately faded away.
It is also noteworthy that Threads has not been launched in any of the 100 countries within the European Union due to the bloc’s stricter data security laws.
As the legal battle between Twitter and Meta unfolds, the outcome may have significant implications for the future of social media competition and intellectual property rights within the industry.