Twitter considers suing Meta over new Threads app

The launching of the new conversation app, Threads, which has more than 30 million users, has Twitter considering taking legal action against Meta. Meta claims that the launching of the Threads app has been considered as an alternative platform following Twitter’s daily tweet reading limit. However, Twitter attorney Alex Spiro sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, accusing Meta of ‘systemic, willful, and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property.’ Twitter alleges that Meta hired former Twitter employees who continue to have access to Twitter’s trade secrets, which contributed to the creation of the Threads app. According to the letter, Twitter requests that Meta immediately stop using any Twitter trade secrets or confidential information. Meta’s spokesperson, Andy Stone, denied the allegations regarding former Twitter employees.

At the same time, spokesperson Matt Pollard says that the EU competition rules seem to be holding back Threads launching in the EU. Meta has already informed the Irish Data Protection Commission about its plans to launch a new app, Threads, in the EU, considering that its headquarters are in Ireland. Alex Agius Saliba, a European Parliament’s internal market committee member, highlighted that the Threads app connected to Instagram involves data sharing within a tech giant classified as a ‘gatekeeper’ according to the EU law. Saliba believes that the delayed rollout of Threads in the EU is necessary to ensure compliance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and prevent unfair competitive advantage over other platforms.