Twitter Privacy Probe Targets Musk for Deposition by FTC

Elon Musk will be deposed by the Federal Trade Commission as part of its investigation into Twitter Inc., the social media platform that Musk bought for $44 billion last year.

‍

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) expanded its investigation into Twitter's privacy and data security practices during the final quarter of 2017, following the company's takeover by Elon Musk, Trade Algo reported at the time. This investigation would be escalating if Musk were to be deposed, which would be a significant development.

‍

Twitter has been targeted by the Federal Trade Commission with thousands of document requests, asking the company to provide communications relating to its recent layoffs as well as Musk's leadership and other topics, according to a congressional report. Additionally, the agency also requests documents related to the so-called "Twitter Files," a project in which Musk gave outside journalists access to internal Twitter information through the use of Twitter documents.

‍

Several details about the investigation have been revealed by a report released Tuesday by the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, which indicates how the FTC responded to Musk's takeover of Twitter.

‍

Initially, the Wall Street Journal reported on the FTC's plans.

‍

“A shameful example of how a government agency was weaponized and used for political purposes, and suppression of the truth is taking place!” Musk posted on Twitter Tuesday.

‍

FTC spokesperson Douglas Farrar said in a statement that “it should come as no surprise that career staff at the commission are conducting a rigorous investigation into Twitter’s compliance with a consent order that came into effect long before Mr. Musk purchased the company.”

‍

After Musk's acquisition of Twitter, the FTC sent over a dozen letters to the company in the subsequent three months. Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee in their report alleged that the outreach shows that the agency has been "attempting to harass" the company.

‍

There is currently a consent decree between Twitter and the FTC, which means that the agency is supposed to be overseeing the company's privacy practices based on its consent decree. There have been a number of layoffs under Musk that have affected employees responsible for protecting users' privacy and security on the social media platform.