Feud erupts between Elon Musk and Microsoft—with one side threatening to sue the other for ‘illegally’ using its data.
Microsoft Corp. said its social media planning and scheduling tools for advertisers will no longer support Twitter, after the Elon Musk-owned social network started charging for access to its programming interface. Microsoft’s Smart Campaigns service helps advertisers manage social media campaigns on services including Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. As of April 25, users of the product won’t be able to do things like create tweets and drafts, or see past tweets and engagement, the company said.
The software maker is the biggest investor in OpenAI, the AI research lab Musk co-founded before falling out with the team and leaving in 2018. Musk is now establishing his own rival AI effort.
Elon Musk responded to the announcement by accusing Microsoft of using Twitter data “illegally” and threatening a lawsuit. The billionaire, who bought Twitter last year, is changing the company’s policy to charge businesses for access to its stream of data.
Microsoft didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier, the company said 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. “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. 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, Mr 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. In recent months, major companies including iPhone maker Apple reportedly halted advertising on the platform over concerns about how content was moderated on the site. 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.
