Twitter threatens authorized battle with Meta over rival app – stories
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cease-and-desist letter has been despatched to Mark Zuckerberg by a lawyer performing for Twitter claiming new Meta app Threads is a “copycat” of the Elon Musk-owned platform, based on stories.
The letter, seen by news web site Semafor, accused Zuckerberg of the “systematic, willful (sic), and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property”.
It is written by Alex Spiro, who says he’s performing on behalf of Musk’s X Corp and in addition accuses Meta of hiring “dozens” of former Twitter staff who “have access to Twitter’s trade secrets and other highly confidential information”.
In a tweet referencing the letter on Thursday night, Musk stated: “Competition is fine, cheating is not.”
No one on the Threads engineering crew is a former Twitter worker — that’s simply not a factor
Following the stories, Andy Stone, Meta’s communications director, posted on Threads: “To be clear: No one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee — that’s just not a thing.”
Threads, created by Facebook and Instagram house owners Meta, went stay within the UK at midnight on Thursday.
The platform’s launch was introduced ahead by 15 hours and made freely accessible in 100 international locations, though it’s not but accessible within the EU as a result of regulatory considerations.
Linked to Instagram, it permits customers to publish as much as 500 characters of textual content and as much as 5 minutes of video and hyperlinks, in addition to photos.
Zuckerberg stated on Thursday signal ups for the app have surpassed 30 million.
Twitter chief govt Linda Yaccarino tweeted on Thursday after the roll out of Twitter’s new competitor: “On Twitter, everyone’s voice matters.
“Whether you’re here to watch history unfold, discover REAL-TIME information all over the world, share your opinions, or learn about others — on Twitter YOU can be real.
“YOU built the Twitter community. And that’s irreplaceable. This is your public square.
“We’re often imitated — but the Twitter community can never be duplicated.”
The launch of Threads comes in opposition to a backdrop of turbulence at Twitter after it imposed tweet viewing limits on the weekend in a transfer it partly blamed on information harvesting by firms constructing synthetic intelligence fashions.
Many customers have publicly expressed frustrations with Twitter since Musk took over, partly linked to political beliefs and erratic behaviour, in addition to efforts to push extra customers in direction of its paid-for Twitter Blue service.
The new app is the newest chapter within the rivalry between Zuckerberg and Musk, who purchased Twitter in October.
Last month, the pair – two of the world’s most high-profile billionaires – agreed to take one another on in a cage struggle in an alternate that went viral on social media.
Meta and Twitter have been contacted for remark.