Advertisement
Sections
Sony hack reveals Snapchat's secrets: Felt like crying all morning, says CEO Spiegel
The hacking at Sony has resulted in some serious damage to the popular messaging app Snapchat as well.
The hacking of Sony's corporate network has resulted in some serious damage to the popular messaging app Snapchat as well. As a part of the hacking, leaked emails surfaced yesterday which showed that Snapchat had turned down an offer worth more than $3 billion from Facebook.As this report in The Verge points out Spiegel had been in touch via email with Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton and that the leaks revealed how the company had "secretly bought a company that makes a Google Glass-like product" and Snapchat's plans to "insert music into the app."Now Spiegel has spoken out against the hacking and wrote an open letter to his staff and board, which he shared on Twitter, slamming the incident. Check out his tweet below with the letter.He wrote in the letter, "I've been feeling a lot of things since our business plans were made public last night. Definitely angry. Definitely devastated. I felt like I was going to cry all morning, so I went on walk and though through a couple of things."In the letter, Spiegel makes a case for keeping secrets and admits that keeping secrets helps ensure that they can go do their "work free from judgement, until we're ready to share it... We care about taking time to get things right. Secrets help us do that."He added that, it's not okay for people to get to take away all the 'hard work' they've done to surprise their friends, family and community and that it was wrong for people to steal their secrets and private information and make it public. He ends his note saying, "We're going to change the world because this is not the one that we want to live in."The leaked emails also mentioned personal conversations between Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel and that Spiegel was 'crazy' to turn down such an offer.The leak also revealed an email by Mitch Lasky, a board member at Snapchat, who stated that Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel would have received $1 billion if the Facebook had acquired the company. Benchmark’s Mitch Lasky email to Evan Spiegel also says that, “I know you have no interest in selling to him (Mark Zukerberg), but you want to keep on good terms with the enemy.”
First Published:Dec 18, 2014, 10:54:55 IST
Advertisement
Advertisement

Why AI notetakers are raising serious privacy and security concerns
AI notetakers promise effortless meeting summaries, but experts warn they could expose confidential conversations, corporate secrets and personal voiceprints. As businesses increasingly adopt AI-powered meeting assistants, questions over data storage, privacy, consent and legal risks are becoming impossible to ignore
5 min read
China's low-cost AI models are changing the global AI race. Here's why Silicon Valley is worried
As Chinese firms continue to improve performance while keeping prices low, the AI race is no longer just about building the smartest model—it is increasingly becoming a battle over who can deliver the best value
2 min read
China's Kimi K3 challenges US AI leaders with frontier-level performance at lower cost
Chinese artificial intelligence startup Moonshot AI has unveiled its latest open-weight AI model, Kimi K3, with early results suggesting it could compete with some of the world's most advanced AI systems developed by leading US companies
2 min read
How did Instagram run ads promoting child abuse in India?
India has issued a notice to Meta after an investigation alleged that Instagram displayed paid advertisements promoting child sexual abuse material. MeitY ordered Meta to remove such Instagram ads and explain within seven days how they were approved
8 min read
Why has India halted WhatsApp’s username feature before launch?
India has halted WhatsApp’s planned username feature, citing concerns about cybercrime, impersonation, and law enforcement challenges. As Meta races to address security concerns, here’s why MeitY has paused the rollout, what the feature does, and how it could influence privacy and online safety in India
3 min read
Advertisement
Advertisement
