Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, has vowed to sue Microsoft, accusing the technology giant of exploiting data from his company without permission.
“They illegally trained using Twitter data.” “Lawsuit time,” the multibillionaire tweeted.
Mr Musk was responding to Microsoft’s announcement that it would be removing Twitter from its corporate advertising platform.
He did not provide any additional information or evidence to back up his assertion.
When contacted by the BBC on Thursday, Microsoft declined to comment.
Previously, the corporation stated in a notification that its advertising platform would “no longer support Twitter” as of Tuesday, April 25.
As a result, ad buyers would be unable to access their Twitter accounts using Microsoft’s social management platform.
“Other social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn will continue to be available,” Microsoft said.
Twitter’s press email responded to a query with a customary poo emoji.
In a separate tweet,in the discussion about the social media platform’s data, Mr Musk said he was “open to ideas”.
“But ripping off the Twitter database, demonetizing it (removing ads) and then selling our data to others isn’t a winning solution,” he added.
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.
According to the company, the data allows users to “manage and track every aspect of your social media presence.”
Since purchasing Twitter for $44 billion (£35.4 billion) in October, Mr Musk has reduced its employment by roughly 80% and taken steps to bolster the company’s profits, including charging users for “blue tick” verification.
In recent months, prominent corporations, including iPhone maker Apple, have reportedly suspended advertising on the platform due to worries over how content on the site was controlled.
In November, Mr Musk said Twitter had seen a “massive” drop in revenue and blamed activists for pressuring advertisers.
Speaking to the BBC last week, he said Twitter had just months left to live when he took over. He also said “almost all advertisers have come back or said they are going to come back” to Twitter.
Mr Musk added that Twitter could be profitable by the second quarter of 2023, and he would be willing to sell the company if the right person came along.
