Daily Times

Twitter threatened Meta with legal action shortly after the launch of Threads, an app created by Instagram’s parent company.

Threads’ goal is to outperform the struggling Twitter platform, which is owned by Elon Musk. Musk’s lawyer accused Meta of illegally using Twitter’s trade secrets and intellectual property in a cease-and-desist letter addressed to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

According to the letter, Meta hired a slew of former Twitter employees with access to sensitive information.

Elon Musk responded to the letter on Twitter, stating, “Competition is fine, cheating is not.” Threads represent the most significant competitor to Musk’s Twitter so far, despite the emergence of other potential rivals. The ongoing rivalry between Zuckerberg and Musk has escalated, with the two billionaires even agreeing to a cage match.

Zuckerberg’s first tweet in over a decade included a Spiderman meme, emphasizing the parallels between Threads and Twitter. Threads was released in 100 countries on the Apple and Android app stores, receiving positive early feedback for its resemblance to Twitter but on a smaller scale.

Over 30 million people had downloaded the app within hours. Threads already had active accounts from celebrities and news organizations. Zuckerberg expressed his excitement about the app’s potential, aiming for it to become a platform for public conversations with over a billion users.

Threads aim to capture a significant portion of Instagram’s two billion monthly users, while Twitter claims over 200 million daily users. Meta hopes that Threads will become its go-to platform for celebrities, businesses, and politicians.

According to analysts, Threads only needs a fraction of Instagram’s monthly users to compete with Twitter’s user base. Musk’s chaotic ownership of Twitter, characterized by minimal content moderation and abrupt decisions, has pushed Zuckerberg to seize the opportunity.

Musk has also fired a significant portion of Twitter’s workforce, which may lead to some employees joining other tech companies, including Meta. However, Meta is facing criticism, particularly in Europe, where its expansion may be stifled.

Concerns have been raised about data privacy and Meta’s handling of personal information, and the company’s launch in the European Union has been delayed due to regulatory uncertainties. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) imposes stringent rules on major internet companies, including limitations on the transfer of user data between platforms such as Threads and Instagram.