The overwhelming reception of social network users gave Wiresthe network’s recent launch of ‘Instagram Twitter’, or the ‘Twitter killer’ as American newspapers call it, seems to have alarmed the billionaire Elon Musk.

Today, when less than 24 hours have passed since Threads appeared, the network has already reached 30 million users, according to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

That was announced on Thursday Twitter threatens to sue Meta for poaching former employees to create a ‘copycat’ app. “Twitter intends to strictly enforce its intellectual property rights and demands that Meta take immediate action to stop using Twitter trade secrets or other highly confidential information,” Twitter attorney Alex Spiro wrote in a letter.

“Twitter reserves all rights, including but not limited to the right to seek civil remedies and injunctive relief without notice to prevent Meta from further withholding, disclosing or using its intellectual property.”

Spiro accused Meta of employing dozens of former Twitter employees who “had and still have access to Twitter trade secrets and other highly confidential information.”

He also alleged that Meta instructed those employees to create the Meta copycat app “Threads” with the intent of using Twitter trade secrets and other intellectual property to further the development of Meta’s competitor.

It claims this violates state and federal laws, as well as those employees’ “ongoing obligations to Twitter.”

How to join Threads and create a profile on the new social network Meta hopes to compete with Twitter

Similarly, Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino said Thursday that her social network can be “imitated” but never “duplicated.”

Yaccarino wrote in a tweet to his followers: “You made the Twitter community. That is irreplaceable. This is your public square. We are often imitated, but the Twitter community can never be duplicated.”

It is not the first time that Meta (parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger) has taken advantage of the successful strategies of other social networks by copying their content: in 2016, Instagram launched “Stories” or stories to compete with Snapchat and in 2020 announced Instagram Reels, a short video feature struggling with TikTok.