One of Zatko’s allegations could also play a role in the current struggle between Twitter and tech billionaire Elon Musk.
(Photo: imago images/ZUMA Wire)
new York A former security chief at Twitter accuses the online service of taking insufficient measures to protect users. Peiter Zatko, who was fired from the company in January, filed a whistleblowing complaint with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
One of his criticisms is that too many Twitter employees have access to the service’s central systems and user data such as telephone numbers. Twitter rejected the allegations and accused Zatko in return of wanting to harm his former employer with the allegations.
The complaint, which was filed in July, became known on Tuesday after the TV broadcaster CNN and the Washington Post had access to the paper and Zatko gave interviews to the two media. 51-year-old Zatko was once known as a hacker. Twitter co-founder and longtime boss Jack Dorsey hired him in 2020 to help improve the platform’s security.
One of Zatko’s allegations could also play a role in the current struggle between Twitter and tech billionaire Elon Musk. He claims that the company has no reliable methods to determine the number of fake accounts on the platform. Musk made the issue of fake profiles and automated bot accounts a key argument in his attempt to exit the roughly $44 billion Twitter acquisition. Twitter wants the court to have Musk obliged to complete the deal.
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For years, Twitter has been estimating that the number of fake accounts is less than five percent. Musk claims there must be a lot more – and accuses the service of denying him access to data to prove it. At the same time, Twitter always made it clear that the number was only based on an estimate and also stated that a million fake profiles were deleted every day.
Subpoena by Musk
For Musk’s lawyers, Zatko’s allegations come at the right time. “We already issued a subpoena for Mr. Zatko, and we found his departure and that of other key employees odd given what we found,” Musk attorney Alex Spiro said Tuesday.
Dozens of experts, banks, funds and other company representatives have already been subpoenaed as part of the Delaware trial. The trial is scheduled to begin on October 17. If Zatko’s claims are true, it’s exactly the kind of “smoking gun Musk needs to pin his hopes on,” said Larry Hamermesh, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania who specializes in mergers and acquisitions litigation.
In the complaint, Zatko explained that Twitter “didn’t want to properly measure the spread of bots, also because it could damage the company’s value and image if the true number became known.”
A Twitter spokeswoman said that while the company does not have access to Zatko’s detailed allegations, what is known so far is that they contained many “inaccuracies”. Twitter continues to stand by the information provided so far and Zatko was fired for “poor performance”. His allegations were intended solely to “catch attention and harm Twitter, its customers and its shareholders.” John Tye, of Whistleblower Aid, which represents Zatko, defended the manager as an “ethical leader.”
It’s difficult to assess whether Zatko’s claims could materially influence the Twitter Musk case, said Jill Fisch, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Whistleblower complaints can raise serious issues, but they can also be unsubstantiated. “We just don’t know at this point how credible the complaint is,” Fisch said.
With material from Bloomberg and dpa.
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