Twitter threatens to sue Meta, accusing the company of poaching its employees to build Threads, a new text-based social media app that is similar to Twitter.
In a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter lawyer Alex Spiro demanded that Meta “take immediate steps to stop using any Twitter trade secrets or other highly confidential information.”
Spiro alleged that Meta had hired dozens of former Twitter employees in recent months, many of whom had worked on developing Twitter’s core products and services. He said that these employees had taken with them valuable trade secrets and other confidential information that they were now using to develop Threads.
Meta has denied the allegations, with its communications head Andy Stone saying in a statement to Semafor, “That’s just not a thing.”
The dispute between Twitter and Meta is the latest escalation in the social media wars. In recent years, Meta has been aggressively copying features from Twitter, such as its Fleets feature, which is similar to Twitter’s ephemeral tweets.
Twitter’s threat to sue Meta comes as the company is facing increasing competition from other social media platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram. The company is also under pressure from its new owner, Elon Musk, who has said that he wants to make Twitter a more open and free platform for speech.
It remains to be seen whether Twitter will actually sue Meta. However, the threat of a lawsuit is a sign that the company is serious about protecting its intellectual property. It is also a sign that the rivalry between Twitter and Meta is only going to intensify in the years to come.
In addition to the legal battle, Twitter and Meta are also competing for users. Threads has already amassed over 30 million users in its first week, while Twitter’s daily active user (DAUs) count has plateaued in recent months.
The outcome of this rivalry will have a major impact on the future of social media. If Threads is successful, it could pose a serious threat to Twitter’s dominance. However, if Twitter can maintain its user base and attract new users, it could still emerge as the leading text-based social media platform.
The next few months will be critical for both Twitter and Meta. The companies will need to invest heavily in their products and services in order to attract and retain users. They will also need to be careful not to cross any legal lines in their efforts to compete with each other.
