Twitter is upset with Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, because of its new app called ‘Threads.’
Twitter believes Threads is a copycat of its platform and they are threatening to take legal action.
The micro-blogging site has claimed that Meta hired former Twitter engineers to create the app, which they see as a violation of their intellectual property rights.
However, Meta has denied these allegations and said that none of the engineers working on Threads used to work for Twitter. Twitter’s owner, Elon Musk, has also accused Meta of cheating.
In a letter to Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter has expressed its concerns about Meta stealing their trade secrets and confidential information.
Twitter said that Meta recruited several ex-Twitter employees who had access to these secrets and accused them of improperly keeping Twitter documents and devices.
Twitter asserts that Meta used this information to speed up the development of Threads, breaking the law and their obligations to Twitter.
The Musk-owned platform has asked Meta to preserve any documents that could be important in a potential legal dispute between the two companies. Elon Musk also commented on the situation, saying that competition is fine, but cheating is not.
Competition is fine, cheating is not
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 6, 2023
Meta has responded to Twitter’s claims and rejected them. Meta’s lawyer said that none of the engineers working on Threads have ever worked for Twitter before.
Threads became popular quickly after its launch because some people were unhappy with recent decisions made by Twitter such as limits on viewing Tweets, paid blue tick, etc. The app gained 30 million sign-ups within 24 hours, according to Zuckerberg. As of May 2022, Twitter had 229 million monthly active users.
While Threads is similar to Twitter, it does not have all the same features. For example, users cannot post long videos or have chatrooms like Twitter Spaces. They also cannot send direct messages on Threads or use hashtags.
