Ex-Twitter Lawyer Launches Twitter.now Platform Amid Trademark Battle With X

Industry Pulse News Desk · 2026-08-28

Operation Bluebird has debuted a social network letting users set content moderation thresholds while defending its use of the Twitter name in court.

Stephen Coates, former head counsel for trademarks at Twitter, has launched a new social media platform called Twitter.now through his startup, Operation Bluebird. The web-based platform entered early testing on Thursday, offering a novel approach to content moderation that allows individual users to determine the visibility of unverified or harmful posts in their feeds.

Unlike traditional social networks that rely on centralized algorithmic moderation or outright account bans, Twitter.now utilizes an artificial intelligence system called VERA. The system evaluates posts, checks sources, and assigns a trust score to content. Users can adjust their personal settings to automatically filter out posts that fall below a selected trust threshold, shielding their feeds without platform-wide bans on controversial accounts.

The launch comes amid an ongoing legal battle with X Corp., formerly known as Twitter Inc. X sued Operation Bluebird in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, alleging trademark and copyright infringement. Operation Bluebird has argued in court filings that X effectively abandoned its rights to the legacy trademark after owner Elon Musk rebranded the service in 2023.

During court proceedings, a federal district judge noted that X had failed to provide credible evidence of continued commercial use for certain legacy marks, though a formal written ruling on X's request for a preliminary injunction remains pending. Due to the ongoing trademark dispute, Twitter.now remains unavailable on major mobile application stores.

Currently operated by a core executive team of eight people alongside contractors, Twitter.now is functioning as a limited web application. The platform currently has a few hundred users, charging early adopters a one-time fee to secure custom handles while testing continues.