Mark Zuckerberg photo source from Facebook
Meta/Facebook’s Threads – the new messaging app going head-to-head against Elon Musk’s Twitter – got off to a really good start. On its first day, the app saw more than ten million downloads. By the end of its second day, Mark Zuckerberg’s Threads had more than 30 million.
But Threads immediately became the target of a new copyright infringement lawsuit threat by Twitter which accused Meta/Facebook of stealing its proprietary code. Some of the people who worked on Threads previously worked for Twitter.
Alex Spiro, a lawyer representing Twitter, took a shot across Meta/Facebook’s bow with a letter alleging that Threads has engaged in “systematic, willful, and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property.”
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“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,” Spiro wrote in a direct threat to file suit if Meta does not do something about Twitter’s allegations. “Twitter reserves all rights, including, but not limited to, the right to seek both civil remedies and injunctive relief without further notice.”
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a Threads post following the app’s launch, “The vision for Threads is to create an option and friendly public space for conversation. We hope to take what Instagram does best and create a new experience around text, ideas, and discussing what’s on your mind.”
On the app’s page in Apple’s the App Store Meta/Facebook declares, “Threads is where communities come together to discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what’ll be trending tomorrow.”
“Whatever it is you’re interested in, you can follow and connect directly with your favorite creators and others who love the same things – or build a loyal following of your own to share your ideas, opinions and creativity with the world.”
But not everyone is so high on Mark Zuckerberg’s would be Twitter Killer. Reuters, for example, had a story with an editorial for a headline that read, “Meta’s Threads isn’t worth 11 Twitters.” The story went on to say “Threads may hurt Meta more than it helps.”
Reuters said that the main problem with Threads is how it is tied so closely to Instagram. So, a user needs to rely on Instagram followers. It also said Threads users would need to “do some heavy-lifting” if they are going to match the experience they had with Twitter.
But some people have already made good use of Mark Zuckerberg’s Threads. These are the one that were banned by Twitter, specifically because Twitter did not like their content. In some cases, this was due to harmful or racist posts, but such people will not be welcome on Threads either.
However, the accounts that were banned because they criticized Elon Musk are finding a home on Threads like Jack Sweeney, who once had an account on twitter that tracked the travels of Elon Musk’s private jet. Sweeney’s account was intended to show, in his opinion, Musk’s hypocrisy since he has been vocal about climate change. In his first post as a Threads user under @elonmusksjet, Sweeney wrote, “ElonJet has arrived to Threads!” He then went back to work tracking Musk.
Few, if any, new apps get going without any hiccups. Threads will need a lot more than 30 million users worldwide to really be a threat to Twitter. If Mark Zuckerberg’s new toy will succeeded it will need its new users to get others to join. This will only happen if they are happy with its service. So, if Threads is to succeeded Meta/Facebook will need to find ways to improve it.
