Elon Musk, chief executive of SpaceX, Twitter and electric car maker Tesla, speaks during a visit to the Vivatech technology start-up and innovation fair at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, June 16, 2023. (Photo by Alain JOCARD/AFP) ) (Photo by Alain JOCARD/AFP, Getty Images)
Alan Chaucard | AFP | Getty Images
Twitter on Thursday asked a federal court to end or amend an Federal Trade Commission order governing how the company stores and uses information about Twitter users.
The 2011 agreement initially resolved allegations that the platform had failed to adequately protect its users’ information. The order requires Twitter to conduct an independent evaluation of its security program for 10 years and prohibits the company from misleading consumers about its security and privacy practices for 20 years.
Twitter is asking the court to determine whether 2011 Federal Trade Commission Order According to the FTC, “Given that the FTC’s actions were fair” archive. The company said the investigation “has gotten out of control and been tainted by bias”. As a result, “inappropriate consent orders . . . can no longer serve any proper equitable purpose.”
Twitter said the FTC has “continuously requested” “onerous document protections,” especially since Elon Musk took over the company last year. Since then, X Corp., Twitter’s parent company, said it has received 16 demand letters, compared with about 28 for the agency over the past decade.
“The FTC’s overreach culminated in a request to remove Mr. Musk, who is not and has never been a party to the consent order,” the filing said.
In May 2022, before Musk took over, the company reached a $150 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department for allegedly violating a 2011 order by failing to adequately inform users of how their contact information would be accessed. for targeted advertising.
Shortly after Musk took over Twitter, the FTC made it clear that it was committed to upholding its order after key privacy and security executives left the company.
“We are closely monitoring the latest developments on Twitter,” an FTC spokesperson said in a statement in November. “No CEO or company is above the law, and companies must comply with our consent decree. Amended The Consent Order gives us new tools to ensure compliance, and we are prepared to use them.”
As an alternative to terminating or amending the agreement, Twitter said it would ask the court to direct the FTC to provide evidence to X Corp. and suspend enforcement of the agreement until it is finalized.
The FTC declined to comment.
WATCH: Elon Musk polls Twitter users on whether he should stay on as CEO
Svlook
