A former Twitter security head reportedly claimed that the Indian government forced the microblogging service to hire a government agent in a complaint filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Department of Justice (DoJ).
The security expert also claimed that Twitter’s claims of having a strong security plan contradicted an 11-year-old deal with the FTC and that Twitter prioritised user growth over decreasing spam on the service.
The Washington Post reported that Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, a well-known hacker and former Twitter security chief, said that the business had been “forced” by the Indian government to install one of its servers in India.
According to the article, Zatko also asserted that Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal had falsely stated that the company was “highly encouraged to detect and eliminate as much spam as we possibly can.”
According to the newspaper, the complaint claims that Twitter workers had “wide-ranging and poorly tracked” access to crucial software, which led to breaches of well-known accounts including that of Elon Musk and the former US President Barack Obama. The Tesla CEO and Twitter are now engaged in a court dispute over his $44 billion (about Rs. 3,51,300 crore) offer to purchase the microblogging service.
Earlier last month, a US court found a former Twitter employee guilty of spying for Saudi Arabia. Ahmad Abouammo, a US citizen and former media partnership manager for Twitter’s Middle East region, was found guilty of failing to register as an agent for Saudi Arabia after gaining access to personal information on users who were critical of the Saudi government, the Associated Press said.
