Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, has threatened to sue Microsoft for allegedly collecting and using data from his social media platform without permission. Musk made this claim in a tweet in response to Microsoft’s announcement that it would no longer support Twitter on its corporate advertising platform, effective from April 25. However, Musk did not provide any evidence to support his allegation.
In a separate tweet, Musk expressed his openness to ideas regarding Twitter’s data but criticized Microsoft’s approach of “ripping off the Twitter database, demonetizing it (removing ads), and then selling our data to others.”
Twitter responded to queries with a customary poo emoji, according to the BBC.
Twitter started charging for the data it collects from “hundreds of millions” of users in February, with a basic plan starting at $100 per month. The data enables users to “manage and track every aspect of your social media presence,” according to the platform.
Since purchasing Twitter for $44 billion in October, Musk has reduced its workforce by around 80% and has taken measures to improve the company’s finances, including charging users for “blue tick” verification.
Concerns about how content was moderated on the site reportedly led major companies, including Apple, to stop advertising on the platform in recent months.
In November, Musk stated that Twitter had seen a “massive” decrease in revenue and accused activists of pressuring advertisers. Speaking to the BBC last week, he said Twitter had only a few months left to live when he took over but claimed that almost all advertisers had returned or planned to return to Twitter.
Musk believes Twitter could be profitable by the second quarter of 2023, and he would be willing to sell the company if the right buyer came along.
Comments are closed.