On Thursday, Mark Zuckerberg and his 748.30 billion dollar company, Meta, launched a new social media app to compete with Twitter called 'Threads.' The launch comes nearly six months after Elon Musk acquired Twitter--promoting approximately 32 million users to exit. After taking over the reins at Twitter back in November, Elon Musk laid off more than 7,000 employees, some of whom were top executives, web developers, and marketing managers. So, the notion of a competing version of Twitter emerging shortly after a mass exodus from the company shouldn't come as a surprise.
Meta has the resources, influence, and brand name to become an immediate threat. Hence, many have already termed the new app the "Twitter Killer." With millions of new users having already signed up for Threads, Twitter threatened to sue Meta within less than 24 hours of going live.
“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,” said Alex Spiro, a lawyer at Twitter. “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.”
Twitter alleges that Zuckerberg's new venture is a “systematic, willful, and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property.” Ironically enough, this news comes less than a week after reports surfaced that the possibility of an MMA fight between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk was gaining traction.
Source: Financial Times
