"Competition is fine, cheating is not" Elon Musk
Twitter is considering pursuing legal action against Meta, the parent company of Instagram, in response to its rapidly growing competitor app, Threads. Meta has positioned Threads as a friendly alternative to Twitter, but Twitter's CEO, Elon Musk, emphasized that competition is acceptable as long as it remains fair. However, Meta has refuted claims made in a legal letter that former Twitter employees contributed to the development of Threads.
Since its launch on Wednesday, Threads has already attracted over 30 million users, as reported by BBC News technology reporter James Clayton. The app bears similarities to Twitter, with familiar features such as news feeds and reposting.
Twitter's attorney, Alex Spiro, sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, accusing Meta of unlawfully using Twitter's trade secrets and intellectual property to create Threads. Spiro alleged that Meta hired several ex-Twitter staff members who had access to confidential information, enabling them to develop what Twitter deems a "copycat" app. The letter demanded that Meta immediately cease the use of Twitter's trade secrets and confidential information, warning of potential legal consequences.
BBC News reached out to both Meta and Twitter for comment after obtaining a copy of the legal letter. Elon Musk reiterated his stance on fair competition in response to a social media post mentioning the letter.
The rivalry between Threads and Twitter has been acknowledged by Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Although Threads is associated with Instagram, it operates as an independent app. Mark Zuckerberg broke his 11-year Twitter silence to share a popular meme featuring two almost identical Spider-Man figures pointing at each other, symbolizing a stand-off. Elon Musk responded, expressing a preference for facing criticism on Twitter rather than indulging in the superficial allure of Instagram.
Threads, available in 100 countries, allows users to post content with up to 500 characters and share 5-minute videos, surpassing Twitter's character limit of 280 and video duration of 2 minutes and 20 seconds. While both platforms support links, photos, and post deletion, Twitter offers additional features like direct messaging, trending stories, and hashtags, which are absent in Threads. Threads incorporates a verification system, while on Twitter, verification is part of its paid services, along with longer posts, videos, and an editing function.
Twitter's CEO, Linda Yaccarino, took to Twitter to assert that although the platform often faces imitations, it remains incomparable. Both Meta and Twitter have undergone significant workforce reductions this year, with Meta announcing plans to cut around 10,000 staff members in April, while Twitter experienced multiple waves of layoffs following Elon Musk's acquisition, resulting in a substantial decrease in its workforce of 7,500 employees.
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