Twitter is seeking to limit a leak of the app’s general source code, which was published on GitHub some time ago, as it moves towards open-sourcing its algorithmic code base, which Elon Musk has promised to release this week.
According to earlier this week’s reports, Twitter quickly requested that GitHub erase the confidential information after learning of the source code leak while simultaneously looking for the individual who had published it. And now that Twitter’s plea to compel GitHub to disclose information on the original poster was granted by a Californian judge, the company has taken a step closer to realizing its goal.
The leaker, who is thought to be a disgruntled former employee, may be subject to severe legal consequences because the source code information exposes Twitter to serious risk from hackers and rivals who might be trying to copy its features.
The publication of Twitter’s algorithmic source code is still planned for this week, as was already mentioned.
Twitter will open source all code used to recommend tweets on March 31st
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 17, 2023
With this release, Twitter hopes to simplify and improve its systems to better correspond with user expectations and aspirations. Musk also mentioned that Twitter’s content algorithm is “overly complex & not fully understood internally.”
Twitter may be more vulnerable to manipulation than ever before if the leak of the entire source code is included.