"This is Cheating:" Twitter Threatens to Sue Meta Over Threads, Analysts Reveal Similar Features

"This is Cheating:" Twitter Threatens to Sue Meta Over Threads, Analysts Reveal Similar Features

Twitter is suing Meta over the launch of Threads, stating that the company stole trade secrets

  • Also, Twitter is accusing Meta of hiring former employees to build Threads, making it similar to Twitter
  • Analysts have pointed out the similarities between Twitter and Threads with similar features

Twitter has accused Meta of hiring ex-staff to clone the platform wholesale.

The microblogging site has also issued a notice to sue Meta over the newly launched Threads in a letter sent to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg by Twitter's lawyer, Alex Spiro.

Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Threads, Twitter
Elon Musk calls the launch of Threads cheating Credit: NurPhoto / Contributor
Source: Getty Images

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Twitter says former employees worked on Threads

The newly launched Threads has logged more than 30 million users on the platform touted to replace Twitter which has been engulfed by a series of changes introduced by Elon Musk since he bought the platform in 2022.

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In his letter, Spiro accused Meta, the company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, of hiring former Twitter employees. He had continued to have access to Twitter's trade secrets and other highly sensitive information.

In his letter, Spiro accused Meta of hiring former Twitter employees who "had and continue to have access to Twitter's trade secrets and other highly confidential information," News website Semafor first reported.

"Twitter intends to enforce its intellectual property rights strictly and demands that Meta take immediate steps to stop using any Twitter trade secrets or other highly confidential information," Spiro wrote in the letter.

Reuters quotes a source with knowledge of the letter confirmed its contents on Thursday, July 7, 2023.

According to Meta's spokesperson, none of the Threads engineering team is a former employee of Twitter.

Reuters reports that a former Twitter employee revealed they were unaware of any former staff working on Threads or any senior personnel working with Meta.

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Must responds to Threads launch as analysts point out similarities

Musk, the Chief Technology Officer of Twitter, responded to the development calling it cheating,

"Competition is fine; cheating is not," Musk tweeted.

Twitter has had a slew of competition since Musk took over the platform last October, including Mastodon and Bluesky, launched by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.

However, analysts have pointed out the similarities between the two platforms.

According to them, Threads' repost and like buttons look strikingly similar to those on Twitter.

Also, they revealed that users are taking advantage of the recent unfavourable changes made on Twitter to jump ship.

5 things to know about Zuckerberg’s new aocial media app, Threads, as it crosses 10 million users in 7 hours

Legit.ng reported that on Thursday, July 6, 2023, Meta launched a Twitter clone, Threads, to rival Elon Musk’s microblogging site, Twitter.

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Threads will function more like Twitter with text-based posts, like, share, and comments functionalities akin to Twitter.

Threads is now a top trending topic on Twitter and has reportedly crossed 100 million downloads in 7 hours, according to Zuckerberg.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Pascal Oparada avatar

Pascal Oparada (Business editor) For over a decade, Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy. He has worked in many media organizations such as Daily Independent, TheNiche newspaper, and the Nigerian Xpress. He is a 2018 PwC Media Excellence Award winner. Email:pascal.oparada@corp.legit.ng