Given the amount of global chaos one boyish billionaire and a boatload of cash can cause, it’s not exactly surprising that the US government might be somewhat concerned about the recent shenanigans at Twitter. The Biden administration has occasionally expressed concern about how Musk’s actions could affect the broader political situation around the world, according to recent reports.
On Thursday, the Federal Trade Commission, not exactly the agency you want on your bad side if you’re a business, similarly made it known that they were monitoring the situation: “We are tracking recent developments at Twitter with deep concern. No CEO or company is above the law, and companies must follow our consent decrees,” the agency said in a statement to the Washington Post on Thursday. It’s easy to forget given everything that’s been going on lately but Twitter was already in deep shit before Musk bought it. In addition to being under a 20-year consent order with the FTC due to security lapses back in 2011, Twitter also still has its security scandal from this summer hanging over its head. Remember all the revelations provided by the whistleblower Peter Zatko, aka “Mudge,” Twitter’s former security chief? Because of the alleged seedy organizational decisions that were already being made at Twitter before this terrible new Musk chapter, the FTC is now keeping a very close eye on the tech giant. Suffice it to say, with Elon’s takeover and his immediately terrible security/privacy/verification decisions, he must be making the agency exceedingly nervous. “Our revised consent order gives us new tools to ensure compliance, and we are prepared to use them,” the agency said ominously, in its statement to the Post Thursday.
Elon, watch out! You don’t want the feds in your rear view mirror, my friend.