Twitter has threatened to sue Meta, Facebook’s parent company, over Threads’ release.
The Threads app was launched by Meta on Thursday as part of its suite of social networking apps, allowing users to engage in threaded discussions just like Twitter.
The Threads app looks similar to Twitter’s core functionality, with users able to respond to and sustain conversations on existing threads.
ALSO READ: Meta to rival Twitter as Threads launches Thursday
Twitter claims the Threads app infringes upon its intellectual property rights and violates certain terms of use.
It also claimed that Meta engaged in systematic, willful, and unlawful misappropriation of its trade secrets and other intellectual property, according to a letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg published by Twitter’s lawyer, Alex Spiro.
“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. 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 said.
ALSO READ: Meta’s Threads selling our data to advertisers; Twitter user alleges
Meta was also accused of recruiting former Twitter employees who “had and continue to have access to Twitter’s trade secrets and other highly confidential information.”
It was alleged that these employees helped Meta develop the Threads app with the specific intent that they use Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property to accelerate the development of Meta’s competing app, in violation of both state and federal law as well as those employees’ ongoing obligations to Twitter.
Twitter’s boss, Elon Musk, reacted to the news and said, “Competition is fine, cheating is not.”
Competition is fine, cheating is not
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 6, 2023
