US FTC asked Twitter for details on Musk's internal communications -House report

Reuters

Published Mar 07, 2023 05:08PM ET

Updated Mar 07, 2023 07:26PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Federal Trade Commission asked Twitter to turn over some internal communications related to owner Elon Musk and other detailed information about business decisions as part of an investigation into the social media company, according to a report put out by two House of Representatives committees.

The FTC has sent more than a dozen letters to Twitter and its lawyers since Musk's takeover in October. Among the requests were the company "identify all journalists" who were granted access to company records and to provide information about the launch of the revamped Twitter Blue subscription service, the report said.

The FTC also wants Musk to testify in connection with the probe, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Musk, in a tweet, said it was "a shameful case of weaponization of a government agency for political purposes and suppression of the truth!"

Twitter did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

The FTC said "it should come as no surprise that career staff at the commission are conducting a rigorous investigation into Twitter’s compliance with a consent order that came into effect long before Mr. Musk purchased the company."

The staff report by the House Judiciary Committee and Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government said while some of what the FTC had asked for was relevant to its probe regarding Twitter, other elements went too far.

"There is no logical reason why the FTC, on the basis of user privacy, needs to analyze all of Twitter's personnel decisions. And there is no logical reason why the FTC needs every single internal Twitter communication about Elon Musk," the report said.

The agency has been asking Twitter if it has the required resources to comply with the privacy consent decree, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters last year.