Elon Musk has threatened legal action after Microsoft’s latest move to drop Twitter from its advertising platform instead of paying the API fees.
According to media reports, the tech billionaire has accused Microsoft, a major backer of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, of using Twitter’s data for training AI models without permission. Musk said in a Twitter post said “They trained illegally using Twitter data. Lawsuit time.”
On Thursday, Microsoft on its website, announced that “Starting on April 25, 2023, Smart Campaigns with Multi-platform will no longer support Twitter.”
This means that as of April 25, users will no longer be able to access their Twitter account through Microsoft’s social management tool or be able to create and manage drafts or tweets.
Features like viewing past tweets and engagement or scheduling tweets will also go away. Other social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn will continue to be available.
In a separate discussion, Musk was seen talking about Twitter’s data policies and he said how piggybacking off the Twitter database and no monetization is hurting the company. To top that off, the selling of Twitter data will also provide no solution to the reported beef between the two entities.
What is API?
API or Application Programming Interface enables two software programs to connect and communicate with each other. They are tasked to execute functions related to sharing data and integrating application software.
API is now becoming a source of another gold rush in tech with Musk clearly stating that companies using Twitter’s data should pay for it. Twitter put a stop to the free API service to 3rd party apps and developers previously in February.
The social media giant put a price of $42000 for access to 50 million tweets, $125,000 for 100 million tweets, and $210,000 for the highest plan with 200 million tweets.
TruthGPT: Musk’s answer to Microsft-backed ChatGPT
Musk has announced that he is coming up with his own Artificial Intelligence company where he will launch a new language model called TruthGPT. This contrast comes on the heels of an open letter sent by eminent tech personalities including Musk, which advocated for a pause on AI developments citing risk to society.