Seven Democratic Senators Report Elon Musk To The FTC For Violating The Deal

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal (center) reported Elon Musk to the FTC. (photo: Twitter @SenBlumenthal)

JAKARTA - Seven U.S. Democratic senators sent a letter Thursday, November 17 to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), warning that Twitter, now owned by Elon Musk, acted in disregard of users and urged the agency to investigate any violation of the consent decree the FTC signed with Twitter.

Lawmakers, including Senators Richard Blumenthal and Elizabeth Warren, asked the FTC to consider enforcement action against companies and individual executives if necessary.

“In recent weeks, Twitter's new Chief Executive Officer, Elon Musk, has taken worrying steps that have undermined the integrity and security of the platform, and announced new features despite clear warnings that the changes would be abused for fraud, and dangerous impersonation", the lawmaker said in a letter to FTC Chair, Lina Khan.

Neither Twitter nor the FTC immediately responded to Reuters' requests for comment on the report.

Musk's first two weeks as the Twitter owner was immediately marked by rapid change and chaos. Musk quickly fired Twitter's previous CEO and other senior leaders and then laid off half his staff earlier this month.

There are fears that the upheaval will cause Twitter to fail to comply with its May 2022 settlement with U.S. regulators. where Twitter agrees to improve its privacy practices and place responsibility on those who hold certain positions.

The FTC said last week that it was "tracking the latest developments on Twitter with deep concern. No CEO or company is above the law, and companies must follow our approval decisions."