Twitter Inc misled federal regulators about its defenses against hackers and spam accounts, the social media company’s former security chief Peiter Zatko said in a whistleblower complaint.
In an 84-page complaint, Zatko, a famed hacker widely known as “Mudge,” alleged Twitter falsely claimed it had a solid security plan, according to documents relayed by congressional investigators. Twitter’s shares fell 7.3% to close at $39.86.
The document alleges Twitter prioritized user growth over reducing spam, with executives eligible to win individual bonuses of as much as $10 million tied to increases in daily users, and nothing explicitly for cutting spam.
Twitter labeled the complaint a “false narrative.” The social media company has been battling Elon Musk in court after the world’s richest person attempted to pull out of a $44-billion deal to buy Twitter. Musk said it failed to provide details about the prevalence of bot and spam accounts.
Read More at Reuters
Read the rest at Reuters