Twitter settles suit with TweetAdder

Suit said automation system was contributing to spam

Twitter has settled a lawsuit with TweetAdder, the Twitter automation system that Twitter has called among “the most aggressive tool providers and spammers.”

TweetAdder allows users to schedule tweets, automate multiple Twitter accounts, and use keywords to find certain groups of Twitter users.

The suit, filed in April 2012, was intended to “send a clear message to all would-be spammers,” according to a statement that Twitter released at the time.

“Twitter Calzoncillos Calvin Klein Baratos no w has more than 140 million active users, and we continue to grow at a record pace,” the statement said. “As our reach expands, we become a more attractive target for spammers. Even though spam is a small fraction of the content you can find on Twitter, we know just how distracting it can be.”

Terms of settlement 

Under the settlement, TweetAdder promises not to engage in “creating, developing, manufacturing, adapting, modifying, making available, trafficking in, using, disclosing, selling, licensing, distributing (with or without monetary charge), updating, providing customer support for, or offering for use, sale, license, or distribution (with or without monetary charge), any software or technology designed for use in connection with Twitter’s service, the use of which would violate Twitter’s Terms of Service.”

Because of the settlement, TweetAdder has pulled several previous versions of its software and has required its users to upgrade to version 4.0, which apparently complies with the terms of the settlement.

Competitors affected 

Twitter also filed suit against a number of TweetAdder’s competitors at the same time last year, including TweetBuddy, Justinlover.info, Troption, and TweetAttacks. Twitter reached a settlement with TweetBuddy last year, but the other suits are still active.

TweetAttacks  its users that their “profiles will appear to have been created by real people, so it’s a lot more likely that they will stick.” A Pro version of that service purported to allow tweets to be viewed by “thousands or tens of thousands of Twitter users in a matter of minutes.” 

Perhaps the most unique of those defendants was Justinlover, which was a site that catered to Justin Bieber fans who wanted to get the singer’s attention.

“If you really want to, all you have to do is to seize the right moment, for example, the time when he just updates his twitter, then immediately leave him messages,” the site had. “You’d better keep leaving him messages to attract his attention.”

As of publication, the site was no longer active.

(originally published at )