With Twitter moving towards open-sourcing its algorithmic code base, which Chief Twit Elon Musk has committed to releasing this week, the company’s also working to contain a leak of the app’s overall source code, which was published on GitHub some time back. We do wonder if GitHub would also catch some Twitter flak here once Twitter’s done with the leaker? Let’s wait and see just how much they’ve gotten under Musk’s skin.

Twitter 1-0

As reported earlier this week, upon discovery of the source code leak, Twitter immediately called on GitHub to remove the proprietary info, while also seeking to uncover the one responsible for leaking and publishing it. Now, Twitter’s moving a step closer in this regard, with a Californian court granting its request to force GitHub to release information on the original poster. As Bloomberg reports:

“GitHub must provide personal identifying information associated with the account FreeSpeechEnthusiast by April 3, according to the order signed by a court clerk on Tuesday. GitHub didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.”

The leaker, who’s said to be a disgruntled former employee, could face significant ramifications for the leak, with the source code info opening Twitter up to significant risk from hackers and competitors who may be looking to replicate its functions. In short, the person, whoever they are, would probably do well to pick out a good, insulated wet suit, because they’re gonna be in some pretty hot water soon.

The main clutch here is if they can really find the perp. You would assume that anyone leaking such info on GitHub would have a pretty good working knowledge of how the system functions, and they’ve likely hidden their digital footprints pretty well as a result. But still, Twitter will be pushing to unmask the culprit, as it moves into damage control to mitigate risks associated with the info leak.

At the same time, as noted, Twitter’s still scheduled to release its algorithmic source code sometime this week. Musk also noted that Twitter’s content algorithm is ‘overly complex & not fully understood internally’, with this release, ideally, helping the Twitter team to simplify and improve its systems, to better align with user expectations and desires. Add the overall source code leaks here, and Twitter could well be at high risk of manipulation, higher than ever before.

The Wrap

However much speculation that may be, since we still don’t know who the leaker is, or what Musk and Co. will share in this algorithmic overview – will it include details on Twitter’s VIP list of accounts that get extra amplification in the app? That seems like the Twitter 2.0 team meddling with trends, which is something that Musk has heavily criticized past Twitter management for. Just what will Twitter’s new algorithmic code be? Such suspense.

Sources

http://bit.ly/3Zth7vV