Twitter has been asked by the US FTC to provide evidence that it has the required resources to comply with settlements agreed upon earlier this year.
The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is expanding its investigation into Twitter’s privacy and data security practices, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday. The FTC’s lawyers have questioned two former company executives in the past month about the social media platform’s compliance with the agency’s 2011 consent decree, the report added. The agency has asked the company if it has the required resources to comply with the privacy consent decree, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters last week.
Since its takeover by Elon Musk, Twitter has seen a number of high-profile departures and layoffs. Some analysts have expressed concern that the social media giant might fail to abide by a May 2022 settlement with the US regulator in which the company agreed to improve its privacy practices. That settlement preceded the Musk takeover.
In May, Twitter agreed to pay $150 million and assess potential features for data privacy and security issues in a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The company also resolved allegations that it misused private information, such as phone numbers, for advertising after telling users the information would be used for security reasons.
The FTC settlement with Twitter, which followed two data breaches at the company, was prompted by assertions that it had violated a prior consent decree in 2011, with The Social media platform pledging that it will not mislead users about privacy protections.
The recent Mass layoffs at the tech firm, by billionaire Elon Musk the new owner have sparked concerns that the social media company may fail to abide by the settlement.
Twitter laid off roughly 3,700 employees in early November in a cost-cutting measure by its new owner.
The company did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comments, while the FTC declined to comment.