Microsoft Gets Lawsuit Threats From Elon Musk Over Twitter Data

Twitter boss Elon Musk has threatened to sue Microsoft as he accused the technology giant of using data from his social media company without permission.

Earlier, the company says in a notice that its advertising platform would “no longer support Twitter” from Tuesday 25 April. As a result, ad buyers would not be able to access their Twitter accounts through Microsoft’s social management tool.

“They trained illegally using Twitter data. Lawsuit time,” the multi-billionaire says in a tweet. Musk was responding to Microsoft’s plan to remove Twitter from its corporate advertising platform. He did not provide further details or evidence to support the claim.

“Other social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn will continue to be available,” Microsoft says.

In February, Twitter started charging for the data it collects from “hundreds of millions” of users, with a basic plan starting at $100 a month. The data allows users to “manage and track every aspect of your social media presence”, according to the platform.

Since buying Twitter for $44bn (£35.4bn) in October, Musk has cut its workforce by around 80% and moved to boost the company’s finances through measures including charging users for “blue tick” verification.