Washington (November 17, 2022) – Following recent alarming developments at Twitter following Elon Musk’s takeover of the company, Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) joined his colleagues in a letter led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D- Conn.) calling on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to conduct robust oversight and enforcement of Twitter’s consent decree and investigate potential violations of consumer protection laws.
“We write about Twitter’s serious and willful disregard for the safety and security of its users and encourage the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate any violations of Twitter’s consent decree or other violations of our privacy laws. consumers,” the senators wrote in a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan.
Citing Musk’s actions that have “undermined the integrity and security of the platform” and the announcements of “new features despite clear warnings that those changes would be abused for scams, scams and dangerous imitations,” including the problematic appearance of Twitter Blue, senators urged the FTC to hold Twitter accountable. “Twitter knew in advance that the Twitter Blue product was highly likely to be used for fraud, and yet took no action to prevent harm to consumers until this rampant imitation turned into a public relations crisis.”
According to recent reports, under Musk’s new leadership, the company has fired key staff, limited internal privacy reviews and required engineers to take legal responsibility for new changes, in an effort to prioritize profits and reduce the costs. Senior Twitter executives responsible for the platform’s privacy, cybersecurity and integrity also resigned last week, raising further alarm.
“We urge the Commission to vigorously monitor its consent decree with Twitter and take enforcement action against any violations or business practices that are unfair or deceptive, including bringing civil penalties and imposing liability on individual Twitter executives.” , when appropriate,” the senators emphasized. “As you recently noted in Senate testimony, ‘no CEO or company is above the law and companies must follow our consent decrees.'”
A copy of the letter can be found below or here:
Dear Chairman Khan,
We write about Twitter’s serious and willful disregard for the safety and security of its users and encourage the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate any violations of Twitter’s consent decree or other violations of our consumer protection laws. .
In recent weeks, Twitter’s new chief executive, Elon Musk, has taken alarming steps that have undermined the integrity and security of the platform and announced new features despite clear warnings that those changes would be abused for fraud, spoofing and impersonation. dangerous. According to media reports, in prioritizing growing profits and cutting costs, Twitter executives have fired key staff, scaled back internal privacy reviews and forced engineers to take legal responsibility for new changes — preventing managers and staff charged with overseeing security and legal compliance by reviewing product updates. Additionally, top Twitter executives responsible for privacy, cybersecurity and platform integrity resigned last week, further calling into question whether personal data is adequately protected from misuse or breach as the company explores new products and strategies. of making money.
Users are already facing the serious consequences of this growth-at-any-cost strategy. Since the verification feature launched more than a decade ago, Twitter users have come to rely on the blue tick as a guarantee that featured users are who they say they are — the clearest sign that an account is trustworthy. When Mr. Musk announced plans to open up Twitter’s verification services to all paying users, experts warned that the change would exacerbate the platform’s already rampant problems with financial fraud, foreign disinformation and public safety threats. These misguided changes come at a time when Twitter is facing coordinated campaigns of racist, misogynist and anti-Semitic harassment, trying to use the change in ownership to spread hate and bigotry.
Despite those warnings, Mr. Musk went ahead and launched the feature, resulting in fake accounts impersonating President Biden, senators, athletes, companies and others. Of particular concern, these fake accounts included fraudsters impersonating famous companies and people for cryptocurrency schemes, identity theft and other financial crimes. Twitter knew in advance that there was a high likelihood that the Twitter Blue product would be used for fraud, and yet took no action to prevent harm to consumers until this rampant imitation turned into a public relations crisis.
We are concerned that actions taken by Mr. Musk and others in Twitter management may already represent a violation of the FTC’s consent decree, which prohibits misrepresentation and requires Twitter to maintain a comprehensive information security program. The FTC was already aware, even before Mr. Musk’s purchase, of Twitter’s recent inappropriate security practices based on whistleblower disclosures by former Twitter security chief Peiter “Mudge” Zatko. Earlier this year, Twitter agreed to pay $150 million to settle allegations by the FTC and the Department of Justice that Twitter violated the Federal Trade Commission Act and its 2011 consent decree with the FTC by misleading users about the practices of company privacy and security. We fear that Mr. Musk’s reported changes to internal reviews and data security practices further put consumers at risk and may directly violate the consent decree’s requirements. A lawyer on Twitter was so concerned about potential legal violations and management’s attitude toward the consent decree that they advised colleagues to seek legal advice.
We urge the Commission to vigorously monitor the Twitter consent decree and take enforcement action against any violations or business practices that are unfair or deceptive, including by imposing civil penalties and imposing liability on individual Twitter executives, where appropriate. suitable. As you recently noted in Senate testimony, “no CEO or company is above the law, and companies must follow our consent decrees.”
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
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