Former Twitter CEO Elon Musk and co-founder Jack Dorsey have criticized the social media giant formerly known as Facebook’s new text-based app, Meta’s Threads. Elon Musk is concerned about the control and monopolization of social media platforms, especially by Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta. Elon Musk has been in a hot seat since he took over Twitter, and that won’t end any time soon.
Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey go after threads
A Twitter user, Alex Valaitis, sparked the debate by highlighting the potential hazards of a world where Zuckerberg controls all social media. In response to Valaitis, Elon Musk provided his opinion regarding social media monopolies, stating, “Any social media monopoly is despair.”
Enrique, another user, complained about the lack of a following option on Threads and announced their intention to uninstall the app, which accelerated the conversation. Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter, responded to Enrique’s remark as follows: “Not surprising they’ve never given people a choice to remove the algorithm. Look at Instagram.”
Musk expressed alarm in response to a screenshot of Mark Zuckerberg discussing Facebook users. Additionally, Jack mockingly remarked, “We wanted flying cars, instead, we got 7 Twitter clones.”
Will Elon Musk will sue Zuckerberg?
In a social media post, Twitter executive chairman Elon Musk accused Meta of “cheating” with the release of Threads, a text-based social network resembling Twitter.
While Musk wrote that he enjoys competition, he made it abundantly clear that he does not tolerate deception. The billionaire’s comments come after Twitter attorney Alex Spiro threatened Mark Zuckerberg with legal action in a letter.
Spiro stated in a letter dated 5 July that Twitter intends to “strictly enforce its intellectual property rights.” Additionally, the company demanded that Meta cease using Twitter’s trade secrets immediately.
According to Spiro’s letter, Meta recruited former Twitter employees with access to Twitter’s trade secrets and confidential information. Spiro wrote that Meta allocated these employees to develop a “copycat” application called Threads, alleging that the company used Twitter’s trade secrets and intellectual property to expedite the development of the rival application.
In addition, Spiro emphasized that the letter functions as a formal notice to Meta to preserve all documents and former Twitter employees pertinent to a dispute between Twitter and Meta.
Spiro also mentioned that Meta is prohibited from scanning or scraping Twitter’s followers or following data. Without the company’s prior consent, this is prohibited for any reason, according to the attorney’s letter.
Threads, a new text-based social network from Meta, was released in 100 countries on July 5. The app was released days after Twitter’s rate limit fiasco, in which the social network temporarily restricted the number of posts that users could view.
Yesterday, the Threads app from Meta was released, positioning itself as a text-based alternative to the popular photo-sharing app Instagram. The application provides distinct areas for real-time updates and public discussions. It is available in several countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and Japan.
Threads offers user migration flexibility. The application intends to incorporate ActivityPub, the protocol underlying Mastodon. This integration would allow users to easily migrate their followers to another platform if they decide to abandon Threads or if the app is discontinued, ensuring continuity and usability.
Threads has the potential to challenge Twitter’s dominance in the microblogging space due to its user-friendly interface, large user base, and reputation for superior moderation. The app’s ability to attract advertisers seeking a brand-safe environment and capitalize on Twitter’s declining trust strengthens its position further.
However, the landscape of microblogging remains unpredictable, and Threads’ success is contingent on effectively addressing community and individual protections. If Threads can combat Twitter’s toxicity, it will have the chance to dethrone Musk and alter the microblogging landscape.
