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Twitter on Thursday asked a federal court to overturn a Federal Trade Commission order restricting its data security practices, claiming the agency was “out of control and riddled with bias.”
The company argued in a filing in the US District Court of Northern California that the FTC conducted an “arduous and vexing” enforcement investigation against the company. Twitter claims that Elon Musk’s acquisition of the social media company led to a “sudden and drastic” change in the agency’s investigations. The order also seeks a stay that would bar the agency from deposing Musk, arguing that the agency’s desire to question him “is based on the same bad faith and improper conduct that has informed its investigations to date.” “.
Read Twitter’s motion to overturn the FTC’s consent order
The company’s filing came just hours before FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan testified on Capitol Hill, where she was met with hostility from Republicans who accused her of poorly running the agency and conducting a politicized Twitter investigation.
Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, called Khan’s leadership of the FTC a “disaster” in his opening remarks. He said their actions were marked by “intimidation followed by inaction,” and described the review of Musk’s Twitter as “targeted harassment.” Jordan, citing the filing from Twitter, said the agency’s investigation was tantamount to a “shakedown.”
The FTC declined to comment on Twitter’s filing. In her written testimony before the committee, Khan made no mention of Twitter or Musk. She wanted to focus on a broad spectrum of FTC cases and discuss the agency’s work to promote competition, fight opioid recovery fraud, limit scams against elders, and regulate artificial intelligence.
“The FTC remains committed to efficiently allocating its resources to effectively protect Americans from unfair or deceptive practices and unfair methods of competition,” she wrote.
House Republicans defend Musk from FTC ‘harassment campaign’
The FTC’s investigation of Twitter predated Musk’s ownership of the company. Last year, the agency began investigating a complaint by whistleblower Peiter “Mudge” Zatko alleging that the company buried “egregious shortcomings” in violation of an order the company reached with the FTC.
After reaching an agreement in 2011, Twitter agreed to implement, monitor and adjust security measures to protect users. But in 2022, the Justice Department accused Twitter of asking users for their phone numbers in the name of increased security and then using the numbers for marketing purposes. Twitter agreed to pay a $150 million fine for allegedly violating the 2011 order prohibiting the company from making false claims about the security of personal information.
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