Committee chairs and leading Republicans Senators Dick Durbin and Senators Chuck Grassley said: “If these claims are accurate, they could represent dangerous data privacy and security risks for his Twitter users around the world.”
Twitter refuted the allegations of disclosure, saying Zatko was fired in January for “ineffective leadership and poor performance.” He claims he was fired.)
“So far, we have seen false narratives about Twitter and its privacy and data security practices that are full of contradictions and inaccuracies, and lack important context,” a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday. “Zacco’s allegations and opportunistic timing appear to be intended to draw attention and damage Twitter, its customers and shareholders. Security and privacy have long been company-wide concerns at Twitter. It is, and will continue to be, a priority.”
The disclosure, which totals about 200 pages including supporting material, was sent last month to a number of U.S. government agencies and congressional committees, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Department of Justice. CNN obtained a copy of the disclosure from the Democratic senior aide on the Capitol. The SEC, DOJ and FTC declined to comment.
The Senate Intelligence Committee, which received a copy of the report, is taking the disclosure seriously and has set up a meeting to discuss the allegations, according to committee spokesperson Rachel Cohen. Senator Richard Bumenthal, who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, wrote to the FTC on Tuesday urging the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the allegations, which found certain Twitter executives guilty of security negligence. If found responsible, they asked for fines and personal liability. Senator Ron Wyden on Wednesday reiterated her Twitter call to protect users’ direct messages from prying eyes using secure end-to-end encryption.
The dispute between Twitter and Musk is set to go to trial in October, but Twitter is nonetheless proceeding with the other steps necessary to complete the deal, including a shareholder vote on September 13. . Twitter’s board of directors has unanimously recommended that shareholders vote in favor of the transaction. If shareholders approve the acquisition, Twitter could have more leverage in its legal battle with Musk.
But the whistleblower’s disclosure could be the latest wrinkle in the legal battle over the deal. Zatko alleges that Twitter misled Musk and the public about the number of bots on his Twitter account, and Musk’s lawyers cited other reasons included in the disclosure as additional reasons the Tesla CEO could walk away from the deal. may also try to use irrelevant claims of Musk’s attorneys filed a subpoena against Zatko ahead of Tuesday’s report on Zatko’s disclosures and referenced his allegations about the bot in the disclosures at a court hearing on the found materials on Wednesday.
Source: www.cnn.com
