Twitter turmoil continues under Musk, triggering FTC warning
The federal agency issued a statement following more departures of top Twitter execs, and a leaked internal message
Biden on investigating Elon Musk's Twitter acquisition
President Biden reacts to Elon Musk's Twitter acquisition.
The Federal Trade Commission fired a warning shot at Twitter on Thursday, signaling the agency is poised to crack down on the platform over privacy concerns as chaos continues at the social media giant amid rapid-fire changes implemented by new owner Elon Musk.
Twitter was fined $150 million by the FTC in May, months before Musk took over, and new developments Thursday apparently grabbed the agency's full attention.
Then-FTC Commissioner nominee Lina M. Khan testifies during a Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., April 21, 2021. (Reuters)
The Verge obtained a Slack message sent by a lawyer on Twitter's privacy team to all employees, informing them that the company's chief information security officer Lea Kissner, chief privacy officer Damien Kieran and chief compliance officer Marianne Fogarty had all resigned. Kissner confirmed their resignation in a tweet.
The lawyer went on to lambast Musk's actions since taking over in recent weeks, saying "Elon has shown that his only priority with Twitter users is how to monetize them."
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"I have heard Alex Spiro (current head of Legal) say that Elon is willing to take on a huge amount of risk in relation to this company and its users, because ‘Elon puts rockets into space, he’s not afraid of the FTC,’" the attorney also claimed.
Elon Musk's Twitter is now in the crosshairs of the FTC. (Muhammed Selim Korkutata / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images)
The author went on to allege that Twitter's legal department would now require the company's software engineers to "self-certify compliance with FTC requirements and other laws."
"All of this is extremely dangerous for our users," the attorney wrote. "Also, given that the FTC can (and will!) fine Twitter BILLIONS of dollars pursuant to the FTC Consent Order, extremely detrimental to Twitter’s longevity as a platform. Our users deserve so much better than this."
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As part of Twitter's settlement with FTC earlier this year for allegedly disingenuously profiting off user data such as phone numbers and email addresses, the social media giant was put under a 20-year consent decree that requires mandatory audits and probes into how the company earns revenue.
The agency now appears ready to investigate whether Twitter is in violation of that agreement, which could lead to another hefty fine.
The FTC issued warning to Twitter on Thursday following reports that the company may be in violation of a consent decree. (REUTERS/Yuri Gripas / Reuters Photos)
Following the report of the attorney's internal message and the confirmed departures of top privacy executives, an FTC spokesperson issued a statement saying the agency was "tracking recent developments at Twitter with deep concern."
"No CEO or company is above the law, and companies must follow our consent decrees," the statement continued. "Our revised consent order gives us new tools to ensure compliance, and we are prepared to use them."
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The FTC's statement comes a day after President Biden told the press that Musk's acquisition of Twitter and his technical relationships with other countries "is worthy of being looked at."
FOX Business' Timothy Nerozzi contributed to this report.