US Government says Elon Musk must testify about Twitter

The US government says the former Twitter’s request to end oversight of its data privacy and security practices is “meritless” and owner Elon Musk should not be immune to testifying about the company since he has “firsthand knowledge” of the conduct being investigated.

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This includes decisions he made since acquiring the company — including mass layoffs, hasty product launches and an overall “chaotic environment” — that could be in violation of a government order limiting its privacy and security practices.

The company now called X Corp. had filed a motion in July for a protective order that would prevent Musk from having to testify about the company — and for relief from its 2022 consent order with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

In a Monday filing on behalf of the FTC, the US Department of Justice said that in seeking to end the FTC’s order, X merely “complains the FTC asked too many questions after Elon Musk acquired the company”.

But the FTC was asking questions, according to the filing, because of “sudden, radical changes at the company” after Musk took over. Within weeks, half of Twitter’s employees were terminated or resigned, “including key executives in privacy, data security, and compliance roles”.