Tech News Summary:
- Twitter is reportedly refusing to pay its Google Cloud bills, which could lead to a shutdown of the social networking company’s trust and security teams.
- The deal between Twitter and Google, signed before Elon Musk took control of the platform last year, was related to fighting spam and protecting accounts. Twitter has been trying to renegotiate the contract with Google since March.
- Since Musk acquired Twitter, the social media giant has cut costs and laid off thousands of employees. Musk ordered the company to reduce infrastructure costs such as spending on cloud services by $1 billion.
According to a report from Platformer, Twitter has refused to pay its bills to Google Cloud. The publication claims that Twitter has not made any payments to Google Cloud during the first quarter of 2021. This has fueled tensions between the two companies, as Twitter is one of Google Cloud’s biggest clients.
The report cites anonymous sources who said that Twitter signed a multi-year contract with Google Cloud in 2018, but has since been exploring other options, including building its own data centers. The sources also alleged that Twitter has not been using Google Cloud to its full extent, which could be why Twitter has refused to pay its bills.
While Twitter has not publicly addressed the issue, it has been making moves towards building its own infrastructure. In February, Twitter announced that it had acquired a lease on a data center in Utah. The move was seen as a sign that Twitter is planning to reduce its reliance on third-party cloud providers, including Google Cloud.
This news comes at a time when Twitter is facing growing pressure to expand its infrastructure to handle a surge in user growth. The platform has seen a significant increase in usage over the past year, as more people have turned to social media during the pandemic.
Twitter users have expressed concern over the platform’s decision to refuse payment to Google Cloud, with many calling for greater transparency from the company. There are also concerns about what this could mean for the future of Twitter’s service, especially if the platform decides to build its own infrastructure instead of relying on third-party providers.