FTC investigates Twitter privacy after Musk’s layoffs

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said that it is investigating Twitter’s privacy practices, citing concerns that staff reductions could compromise the company’s ability to protect users, a report of House Republican showed on Tuesday.

The Judiciary subcommittee issued a staff report this week, a move which Musk condemned using his social platform, describing the investigation as “weaponisation of a government agency for political purposes and suppression of the truth.”

The subcommittee witnessed unfolding many letters sent from the FTC to Twitter; demanding to be provided with information about the company’s operations under the new leadership of Elon Musk.

The agency inquired about many areas of the company’s activity, such as staff-related changes caused by layoffs and resignations. The Twitter files were also looked into, with the term referring to Musk releasing confidential company information to journalists in a selective manner.

Twitter has signed a consent agreement in 2011, which was later updated in 2022. By the virtue of this signature, Twitter is required to uphold solid privacy protection programmes to enhance information security.

This investigation could have great implications for the social media firm, already facing a hard time at the moment caused by sharp decrease in profits. In case of violations of the consent decree, fines in billions could await Twitter’s leadership.