Threads App Faces Backlash-Twitter To Sue Meta
The recent launch of Meta’s text-based app, Threads has stirred up a rivalry between the two biggest tech giants, Zuckerberg and Musk. The Threads app has reportedly been facing a setback from Twitter. The app was launched three days back and became a hot topic of discussion.
However, the app has gotten itself into big legal trouble alleging that Threads infringes upon Twitter’s “intellectual property rights.”
Twitter has sent a legal notice directed to Mark Zuckerberg, with their intention to pursue legal action against Meta. The letter accuses Meta of engaging in the “unlawful misappropriation” of Twitter’s trade secrets and intellectual property.
According to Twitter, Meta has allegedly hired numerous former Twitter employees who had access to confidential information, which Meta then leveraged to develop Instagram Threads a social networking app.
The letter explicitly alleged that the Threads app is a “copy-cat app”. It even demanded Meta to refrain from using the trade secrets and other confidential data of Twitter. emphasizing that such actions violate state and federal laws. Additionally, the letter reminds Meta that crawling or scraping Twitter’s data is strictly prohibited.
In response, Meta’s communications representative issued a brief statement refuting Twitter’s claims. The statement asserts that none of the individuals on the Threads engineering team had previously worked for Twitter, challenging the allegations made by Twitter.
The Threads app was able to get over 10 million users after just 7 hours of being rolled out. One of the reasons for this was Instagram’s vast user base which proved to be an edge for the thread. Moreover, the ever-rising dissatisfaction around Elon Musk’s new Twitter policies has further contributed to the appeal of Threads.
Well, it is not the first Twitter alternative created by someone. Bluesky, backed by Jack Dorsey, Mastodon, known as an ‘anti-Twitter’ platform, and Substack Notes have also emerged. These apps were not so successful in gathering such a huge customer base since they had to build their communities from scratch.
Even Elon Musk has commented, “Competition is fine, cheating is not” in response to a tweet in connection to the letter that was sent to Meta.
Addressing some of the accusations, Andy Stone, the Meta spokesperson on Threads dismissed the claim by commenting that none of the engineers on the Threads team were former Twitter employees, dismissing the claim.
Threads, a new addition to the Instagram app, has gained immense popularity within its first 24 hours of release.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg commented that Instagram Threads has already attracted a staggering 30 million users.
Several prominent social media personalities swiftly joined the platform after its launch, with Kim Kardashian amassing 1.7 million followers, Shakira with 1.4 million, and even Mark Zuckerberg himself acquiring 1.4 million followers by Thursday afternoon.
Considered a formidable competitor to Twitter, which Elon Musk acquired for approximately $44 billion in October 2022, Threads has become embroiled in controversy ever since its release.
The Clash of Tech Titans
The Twitter app was purchased by Tesla CEO, Elon Musk for 44 billion dollars in 2022 and has been making several controversies ever since. For example, the app allowed its verified users to see at most 10000 tweets per day whereas, the unverified users could only see a thousand in a day.
These alterations made Meta enjoy the dissatisfaction of the Twitter community by launching its new app called Threads. This erratic behavior of his had led some of its users to look for an alternative.
The app was launched in about 100 countries and this did not include any countries from the EU. this is because the app has many questions rising relating to its privacy concerns.
Known internally as “Project 92,” Threads was started in secrecy, only a select few were aware of its development. The team responsible for the Threads app remained small, and initial versions were kept confidential, restricted from wider access within Meta.
Also Read: What is the Hype About Meta’s Threads App- All You Need To Know
