Twitter facing increased scrutiny over security and privacy amid FTC investigation: Report

Twitter was fined $150 million in May by the FTC

Elon Musk's Twitter is facing increased scrutiny relating to the US Federal Trade Commission's investigation of the social media giant's handling of privacy and data security practices, according to Bloomberg.

Within the past month, lawyers with the FTC have questioned two of Twitter's former senior executives about the company's compliance with the government agency's 2011 consent order that forced the company to address data-security issues, according to the report, adding that the former executives were asked about the order after Musk bought the company.

The wider investigation is the result of many of Twitter's legal, compliance, and privacy executives leaving the company, the report states.

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Musk & Twitter headquarters

Twitter headquarters is seen in San Francisco, California, United States on October 27, 2021. Twitter has been testing several new features for its mobile app recently. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Sources told Bloomberg that the FTC has questioned Twitter's former Chief Privacy Officer and Damien Kieran, who was Twitter's senior cybersecurity officer, who left the company on Nov, 10.

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FTC building

The Federal Trade Commission is preparing to take a harder line on drug-company mergers, announcing plans Tuesday to overhaul its process for reviewing deals that could harm competition in the pharmaceutical industry.  ((Paul J. Richards/AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)

In response to a request for comment, Musk told Bloomberg "Why has Bloomberg News been asleep at the switch regarding government censorship of social media?"

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Twitter sign with leaves around it

A sign at Twitter headquarters is shown in San Francisco, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File / AP Newsroom)

In May, before Musk completed his purchase of the company, Twitter was forced to pay $150 million after "collecting customers’ personal information for the stated purpose of security and then exploiting it commercially," according to the FTC.