Twitter has reportedly threatened Meta with legal action over its newly launched app, Threads. According to Semafor, the news outlet that published a cease-and desist letter written by Twitter’s legal representative, Twitter accuses Meta of illicitly appropriating its trade secrets and other intellectual property.
In the correspondence, Alex Spiro, acting on behalf of Twitter, claimed that Meta engaged in “systematic, willful and unlawful misappropriation” of Twitter’s proprietary information. Spiro demanded that Meta immediately halt the use of any of Twitter’s trade secrets or other confidential data.
“Over the past year, Meta has hired dozens of Twitter employees,” the letter continued. “Meta deliberately assigned these employees to develop, in a matter of months, Meta’s copycat ‘Threads’ app with the specific intent that they use Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property in order to accelerate the development of Meta’s competing app, in violation of both state and federal laws as well as those employees’ ongoing obligations to Twitter.”
In response, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone made a post on Threads that says, “no one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee— that’s just not a thing.”
The controversy stems from Meta’s launch of Threads, a direct competitor to Twitter. The new app, which was rolled out across 100 nations, amassed 30 million sign-ups within a day of its introduction.
Information for this briefing was found via Semafor and the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
