NEW YORK, USA – Twitter, the social media powerhouse, has reportedly drawn the battle lines as it threatens legal action against Meta Platforms, Inc., the tech behemoth behind Facebook, over the launch of its Threads app.
Twitter alleges that Meta’s new app, which facilitates threaded conversations among users, blatantly pilfers Twitter’s core functionality and intellectual property.
Threads, launched on Thursday, July 6, 2023, by Meta as a new addition to its social networking suite, allows its users to engage in detailed threaded conversations.
This has drawn the ire of Twitter, as it bears a remarkable resemblance to Twitter’s signature ability for users to reply and create conversations based on existing tweets.
Alex Spiro, legal counsel for Twitter, made public a strongly-worded letter to Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
“Twitter has serious concerns that Meta Platforms has engaged in systematic, willful, and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property,” Spiro wrote in the letter, which was published by Semafor.
In the letter, Spiro pulls no punches as he lays down Twitter’s intent.
“Twitter intends to strictly enforce its intellectual property rights and demands that Meta take immediate steps to stop using any Twitter trade secrets or other highly confidential information,” he asserted.
But it doesn’t stop there. Spiro further contends that Meta allegedly engaged in a plot to recruit former Twitter employees.
These employees, according to Spiro, “had and continue to have access to Twitter’s trade secrets and other highly confidential information”.
He alleges that Meta strategically placed these individuals in roles developing the Threads app, leveraging Twitter’s trade secrets to expedite Threads’ development, violating both state and federal laws in addition to these employees’ obligations to Twitter.
“Twitter reserves all rights, including, but not limited to, the right to seek both civil remedies and injunctive relief without further notice to prevent any further retention, disclosure, or use of its intellectual property by Meta,” Spiro further threatened in the letter.
This latest skirmish between Twitter and Meta has sent shockwaves through the tech industry.
Analysts are keenly watching the developments to gauge the impact on both companies and the social media landscape at large.
As of now, Meta has not publicly responded to the allegations.
Legal experts predict that this could be the opening salvo in a prolonged legal tussle between the two social media titans.
A representative from Twitter, when reached for comment, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to protecting its intellectual property.
“We will not stand idle while our innovations and secrets are siphoned off,” the representative said.
The Threads app and the controversy surrounding it will be closely watched as this legal drama unfolds.
