Since the acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk, representatives of the Federal Trade Commission have sent 12 requests to the company for various kinds of information
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has requested from the management of Twitter data on the dismissal of employees, internal correspondence and information about journalists who compiled the “Twitter dossier” (Twitter files). This was reported on Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal newspaper with reference to the documents at its disposal.
According to the publication, representatives of the FTC since the acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk in October last year sent the company 12 requests for various kinds of information. Representatives of the commission were interested in how the policy pursued by Musk could affect the company’s efforts to protect the personal data of users of the social network. The FTC received the right to request such information after in May last year, the former management of Twitter went to settle the lawsuit of the US authorities on the protection of user data, agreeing to pay a $ 150 million fine and take enhanced measures to protect users’ personal data.
Representatives of the FTC fear that the mass layoffs of Twitter employees after the acquisition of the company by Musk may negatively affect the protection of user data. In this regard, the company’s management was required to name the exact number of dismissed employees, as well as explain what tasks they performed. Earlier it was reported that after the arrival of Musk from Twitter, about 80% of employees were fired or quit.
In addition, the FTC requested from Twitter management messages from internal correspondence “related to Elon Musk,” sent “at his direction or received by him.” Representatives of the commission also insisted that Musk personally testify, but this has not yet happened, The Wall Street Journal clarifies.
At the same time, the FTC asked the Twitter management for information about which journalists were collecting data for the Twitter dossier, and what kind of information they had access to. If, based on the results of inspections, it is found that Twitter violates the terms of the agreement with the prosecutor’s office, the company may face additional fines, restrictions on conducting activities or sanctions against members of the management responsible for violations.
On October 27 last year, Musk closed a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, which owns the social network of the same name. Immediately after the purchase, he fired some members of the company’s management, including CEO Parag Agrawal and CFO Ned Segal. As follows from the documents posted in the database of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Musk also dissolved the board of directors and became the sole head of the company.