[ad_1]
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has determined that Twitter/X owner Elon Musk gave orders to the staff that they would have violated an FTC consent decree on privacy and security – if they had been carried out. It turns out that the only reason Twitter/X remained compliant was because its staff disobeyed their then-CEO.
In an open letter to House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan Posted on Wednesday, FTC Chair Lina Khan shared the agency’s findings from its investigation into Musk’s acquisition of Twitter/X in 2022. Twitter/X and the FTC had a long-standing agreement from 2011 prior to Musk’s purchase, which requires the company to “implement and maintain a comprehensive information privacy and security program.” This includes protecting users’ personal data and limiting employee access to it.
However, shortly after his acquisition, Musk ordered Twitter/X staff to give several outside writers full access to the company’s internal documents and systems. According to a Washington Post report, the billionaire claimed that at least one of his hand-picked writers should have “full access to everything on Twitter” without “any limits.”
Musk’s decision to give third parties unlimited access to data held by the company caught the attention of the FTC and raised alarms among Twitter/X employees. Granting these third-party writers such universal access would have allowed them to view Twitter/X users’ personal information, such as direct messages, real names, and phone numbers, violating the FTC’s order to carefully protect such data.
As such, Twitter/X staff decided to simply ignore Musk.
“Due to concerns that such an arrangement could expose non-public user information in potential violation of the FTC Order, Twitter’s long-time information security employees stepped in and implemented safeguards to mitigate the risks,” Khan wrote. “Ultimately, the third parties did not receive direct access to Twitter’s systems, but instead worked with other company employees who accessed the systems on behalf of the individuals.”
The staff still gave the writers enough information to create the Twitter archives, documents that Musk He later tried to downplay it. after they failed to show the anti-conservative bias I had been looking for on Twitter/X. But Twitter/X employees did not provide writers with unlimited access to the company’s systems and data, directly opposing Musk’s directive.
If the staff had simply followed Musk’s orders, Twitter/X would probably be facing some costly consequences right now. The social media platform was previously fined $150 million in May 2022 after violating FTC settlementhaving used users’ personal information to sell advertising and not strictly for security reasons.
Considering Twitter/X value decreased significantly – as well as your Failed attempts to generate income streams to replace your fleeing advertisers — your money the company probably wouldn’t be willing to lose again.
“The FTC investigation confirmed that staff were right to be concerned, given that Twitter’s new CEO had directed employees to take actions that would have violated the FTC order,” Khan wrote. “FTC staff’s efforts to ensure that Twitter complied with the Order were appropriate and necessary, especially given Twitter’s history of privacy and security failures and the fact that it had previously violated the 2011 FTC Order.”
Khan also noted that Twitter/X infamous mass layoffs had left the company ill-equipped to ensure that it was properly carrying out its duties and responsibilities. Musk began slashing Twitter/X’s workforce as soon as he took over the company, with around 80 percent of staff laid off before five months had passed.
“Simply put, there was no one left at the company responsible for interpreting and modifying data policies and practices to ensure that Twitter complied with the FTC’s order to safeguard Americans’ personal data,” Khan said.
Twitter/X filed a motion to end the FTC order last July, seeking to get rid of the privacy and security obligations it imposed on the company. Fortunately for anyone who prefers companies to be responsible for what they do with their data, The attempt was ultimately unsuccessful..
[ad_2]
