Elon Musk has stated his intention to sue Microsoft for “illegally using” Twitter data. The software behemoth recently stated that it would be removing Twitter from its corporate advertising program.
Microsoft revealed in an update to its multi-platform social network interaction page on April 25 that its Smart Campaigns advertising platform will no longer support Twitter and that advertising clients will no longer be able to access their Twitter accounts using Microsoft’s social management tool. Meanwhile, other social networking platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn will remain accessible, according to the business.
In a quick tweet on Wednesday, Musk responded to the revelation, saying, “They [Microsoft] trained illegally using Twitter data.” It’s time to file a lawsuit.” The billionaire was obviously referring to Microsoft’s usage of the Twitter API to train AI programs, presumably including the Microsoft-controlled OpenAI ChatGPT.
Microsoft has also reportedly refused to pay for the Twitter API, which began charging a monthly access charge in February, with the basic plan costing $100 per month and enterprise subscriptions available in tiers. According to a rumor published last month in the magazine Wired, Twitter intends to charge large firms between $42,000 and $210,000 per month for API access.
Twitter’s API, according to the company, gives “broad access to public Twitter data that users have chosen to share with the world” as well as non-public information, such as direct messages, to which people have granted developers access.
One user responded to Musk’s statement by saying that limiting the usage of Twitter’s API could reduce outside traffic to the social media network. The billionaire responded by saying he was “open to ideas” but that “ripping off the Twitter database, demonetizing it (removing ads), and then selling our data to others isn’t a winning solution.”
Musk paid $44 billion for Twitter last year and has subsequently implemented a number of reforms, including the layoff of around 80% of the company’s workforce. The billionaire has been trying to turn the social networking platform into a lucrative business, but it has been losing value so far. Musk said in an interview with Tucker Carlson this week that Twitter is now worth around half of what he spent for it last year, adding, “I must be a genius.”
