Elon Musk to Sue Microsoft Over Twitter Data
- CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk, has threatened to sue the Big Tech firm, Microsoft, claiming that it “illegally” trained its AI on Twitter data.
- Microsoft announced that from April 25, it will cease support for Twitter across its online social advertising tools, Smart Campaigns, and Multi-platform..
- Customers will not be able to access their Twitter accounts, create and manage drafts or Tweets, view past Tweets and engagement, or schedule Tweets.
- Elon Musk also alleged that Microsoft is “demonetizing” Twitter data by removing advertisements and “then selling our data to others.”
A rivalry between Elon Musk and Microsoft is brewing over the usage of data belonging to social media platform Twitter, and the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX has threatened to sue the Big Tech firm, claiming that it “illegally” trained its artificial intelligence (AI) on Twitter data. It is important to mention here that the “Dogefather” acquired Twitter in October 2022 at $54.20 per share, despite the deal failing earlier that year.
On April 19, it was revealed that Microsoft would not pay the API fees imposed by Twitter following the takeover by Elon Musk. In retaliation, the Big Tech firm decided to cease support for Twitter on April 25 across its online social advertising tools, Smart Campaigns, and Multi-platform.
Microsoft announced that from April 25, its customers will not be able to access their Twitter accounts through the company’s social management tool, create and manage drafts or Tweets, view past Tweets and engagement, or schedule Tweets. On the other hand, social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn will remain available.
More importantly, Microsoft made more than $12 billion in digital advertising revenue in 2022 via the ads that were created, managed, and run through its Advertising platform. In response to this news, Elon Musk stated that the Big Tech company trained its AI “illegally using Twitter data” while adding that it is “lawsuit time,” implying that he plans to sue the company for its usage of the data.
Additionally, Microsoft hasn’t explained why it is winding down support for Twitter, but the brewing rivalry between the company and Elon Musk indicates that it has something to do with the Twitter API fees rising from $0 to $42,000 in a month. The Big Tech firm, which is worth $2.15 trillion, refuses to pay the API fees, which are upwards of $200,000 per month in some cases, as per a March report from Wired.
Elon Musk also alleged that Microsoft is “demonetizing” Twitter data by removing advertisements and “then selling our data to others.” The Big Tech firm based in Redmond, Washington, US, has made its decision a few months after Twitter stopped providing free access to the Twitter API for versions 1.1 and 2.
On the other hand, academics have been hard hit by the decision taken by Elon Musk to increase the price for the Twitter API. Over 17,500 academic papers have been based on Twitter data since 2020.
Dogecoin Lawsuit Against Elon Musk
It is crucial to note that Elon Musk has been sued by several investors in the largest meme coin in the crypto space, Dogecoin (DOGE), which was heavily promoted by the Tesla CEO on Twitter in the 2021–2022 time period. The lawsuit claims that the billionaire promoted the crypto coin and conducted fraud as the value of DOGE plummeted significantly thereafter.
On the contrary, the lawyers representing Elon Musk have asked a judge to dismiss the $258 billion lawsuit filed by investors in Dogecoin (DOGE), claiming that it was a “fanciful work of fiction.”
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
