Key Concerns Twitter Raised in Desist Letter to Rival App Threads

In response to the launch of Threads, a competing app, Twitter has threatened to sue Meta.

The firm has been charged with a “systematic, willful and unlawful misappropriation” of Twitter’s trade secrets and intellectual property in a cease and desist letter sent to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on July 5.

According to the letter from Twitter CEO Elon Musk’s attorney Alex Spiro, Threads was created by former Twitter workers.

Adding that some of them still have access to the company’s trade secrets and have wrongfully held onto some of Twitter’s records and electronic devices, he claimed the former workers owe Twitter duties.

“With that knowledge, 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 law as well as those employees’ ongoing obligations to Twitter,” Spiro stated.

Additionally, Twitter has compelled Meta to stop using any of its rival’s trade secrets and private data.

“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 retentions, disclosures, or use of its intellectual property by Meta,” Spiro added.

He also cautioned Meta not to scrape the followers or following data from Twitter.

Additionally, Twitter requests that Meta keep any records that could be necessary in the event that a dispute arose between the two companies and former Twitter employees.

They consist of all correspondence between employees and anyone associated with Meta as well as all recruitment, hiring, and onboarding documentation for employees.

Musk confirmed the suit’s validity on Twitter.

“Competition is fine, cheating is not,” he tweeted.