The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has sent letters to Twitter asking if the company is able to comply with a consent decree that the agency has vowed to rigorously enforce, according to a person familiar with the exchange.
Elon Musk’s chaotic $44 billion purchase of Twitter and the subsequent exodus of staff – including many of the company’s lawyers – has raised concerns that it doesn’t have the security or legal resources to meet the requirements of its agreement with the FTC regarding user privacy and data security.
Twitter didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The FTC’s 2011 consent decree stemmed from allegations that Twitter failed to protect user data in a 2009 hack that allowed intruders to send out fake messages from any user account, including celebrities and politicians.
Twitter in May paid a $150 million penalty for violating the order by misusing email addresses provided for security purposes. The agency said Twitter used the emails for targeted advertising from 2013 to 2019.
The FTC last month said it was tracking recent developments at the company and said that the revised consent decree gives the agency tools to enforce the order, emphasizing that no chief executive is above the law.
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The FTC has been scrutinizing Twitter’s privacy and data-security compliance for more than a decade, requiring it to submit to independent audits every other year.
The New York Times reported earlier on the FTC’s letters to Twitter.
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