Twitter's Threat Of Legal Action Against Threads App

Twitter is evaluating the possibility of initiating legal proceedings against Meta due to its rapidly expanding rival application, Threads.

Launched to a substantial user base on Wednesday, Threads has been positioned by Meta executives as a "friendly" alternative to Twitter.

Despite Twitter CEO Elon Musk stating that "competition is fine, cheating is not," Meta has refuted allegations, outlined in a legal letter, that former Twitter employees played a role in the development of Threads.

Meta claims that over 30 million individuals have already registered for the new app.

According to BBC News technology reporter James Clayton, Threads bears a striking resemblance to Twitter in terms of its appearance and user experience. Clayton highlighted that the news feed and reposting functionalities are "incredibly familiar."

In a development initially reported by news outlet Semafor, Twitter attorney Alex Spiro sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday, alleging that Meta is "systematic, wilful, and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter's trade secrets and other intellectual property" to create Threads.

Twitter attorney Alex Spiro has specifically accused Meta of hiring numerous former Twitter employees who possess insider knowledge of Twitter's trade secrets and highly confidential information.

Spiro claims that this information has been utilized by Meta in the development of their "copycat" app, Threads.

"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," the letter says.

"Twitter reserves all rights, including, but not limited to, the right to seek both civil remedies and injunctive relief without further notice."

Musk said that "competition is fine, cheating is not" in response to a post on Twitter that referred to the legal letter, BBC reported.

On Threads, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone posted that "no one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee - that's just not a thing".

Both Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have openly acknowledged the rivalry surrounding the Threads app, which is associated with Instagram but functions as a separate standalone application.

Upon its launch in 100 countries, Mark Zuckerberg broke his over 11-year silence on Twitter and posted a widely popular meme featuring two nearly identical Spider-Man figures pointing at each other, symbolizing a standoff.

Following this, as the hashtag "Threads" trended globally on Twitter, Elon Musk made a statement, stating, "It is infinitely preferable to be attacked by strangers on Twitter than indulge in the false happiness of hide-the-pain Instagram."

Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino expressed her perspective in a tweet on Thursday, stating that although the platform, which has previously reported around 260 million monthly users, is frequently imitated, it cannot be replicated.

Both Meta (formerly Facebook) and Twitter have undergone substantial layoffs this year. In April, Meta announced plans to reduce its workforce by approximately 10,000 employees.

Similarly, Twitter experienced significant staff reductions, with reports suggesting that as much as 80% of its 7,500 employees were let go in multiple rounds of layoffs following Elon Musk's takeover in October of the previous year.