Twitter threatens to sue Meta Platforms over Threads launch
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News
Twitter (TWTR) is threatening Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) with legal action over the launch of Instagram Threads -- suggesting that of the many short-form social text apps available, Twitter and ringmaster Elon Musk see Mark Zuckerberg's entry as a more serious threat.
Hours after Meta launched Threads, Twitter lawyer Alex Spiro sent Zuckerberg a letter accusing Meta of âsystematic, willful, and unlawful misappropriation of Twitterâs trade secrets and other intellectual property," according to Semafor.
Spiro said Meta had hired dozens of former Twitter workers with access to trade secrets and highly confidential information -- which Meta intended to use in developing a competitor, he said.
After staying quiet about the Threads launch, Twitter owner Elon Musk weighed in on the legal positioning late Thursday, taking to his platform to tweet "Competition is fine, cheating is not."
Meta's Andy Stone took to his Threads platform to respond: "To be clear: 'no one on the Threads engineering team is a former Twitter employee -- that's just not a thing.' "
Wall Street reacted with some cautious positivity about Threads' chance to add incremental revenue and earnings more toward the medium and long term (Threads isn't working to monetize its audience in the short term).
More on Instagram Threads

Instagram puts Twitter rival app Threads on App Store with launch imminent
Instagram launches 'Twitter killer' Threads text app
Meta sinks as Wall Street weighs in on Threads launch
With Twitter On The Ropes, Meta Platforms Brings Down The Hammer
Wall Street Breakfast Podcast: Instagram's Threads
Yes - Meta's 'Threads' Can Destroy Twitter