Elon Musk Accused of Undermining Twitter’s Integrity

Seven Democratic senators warned the Federal Trade Commission in a letter they wrote on Thursday that Twitter, which is now controlled by Elon Musk, was disregarding users’ rights and urged the organisation to look into any violations of the consent decree it had signed with Twitter. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Elizabeth Warren, among other senators, requested that the government consider taking enforcement steps against the business and, as necessary, specific executives.

The lawmakers wrote in a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan, “Twitter’s new Chief Executive Officer, Elon Musk, has taken alarming steps in recent weeks that have undermined the integrity and safety of the platform, and announced new features despite clear warnings those changes would be abused for fraud, scams, and dangerous impersonation.”

Requests for response were not immediately answered by Twitter or the FTC.

The first two weeks of the billionaire’s ownership of Twitter have been characterised by quick change and mayhem. The previous CEO of Twitter and other senior executives were swiftly ousted, and earlier this month, he laid off half of the company’s workers.

There have been worries that the turmoil will cause Twitter to break the terms of a May 2022 deal with the US regulator, wherein Twitter committed to enhancing its privacy procedures and put the responsibility on those who held specific roles.

Twitter agreed to enhance its privacy practises and put the responsibility on people who held specific positions as part of a May 2022 settlement with the US regulator. But as Musk pushes for quick product launches to turn around the indebted, loss-making business, compliance is in doubt. In addition, a number of executives in charge of carrying out the directives have resigned or been demoted.

Last Monday, the FTC claimed it was “monitoring recent Twitter developments with great worry. Companies are required to abide by our consent decrees, and no CEO or firm is above the law.”