Senate to interview Twitter whistleblower on September 13

On September 13, 2018, former Twitter Inc. (TWTR.N) security chief Peiter “Mudge” Zatko will testify before the US Senate Judiciary Committee in regards to his whistleblower complaint alleging that Twitter Inc. (TWTR.N) deceived regulators.

According to a representative for Zatko, who has accused Twitter of making false claims about its security plan and making misleading statements about its defenses against hackers and spam accounts, Zatko has already discussed his complaint with the staff of the chair and ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, the staff of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and the staff of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Zatko, a famous hacker also known as “Mudge,” made numerous allegations in an 84-page complaint, alleging that Twitter prioritized user growth over reducing spam, with executives eligible to win individual bonuses of up to $10 million tied to increases in daily users and nothing explicitly for cutting spam.

According to Twitter, the complaint is just a “false narrative.” The Senate Judiciary Committee chair, Senator Richard Durbin, and the top Republican member, Senator Chuck Grassley, have stated that they will hold a full committee hearing during this work period to investigate the matter further and take additional steps as necessary to get to the bottom of these alarming allegations.

Zatko has also spoken with staff members of Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Blumenthal, who has taken an interest in Big Tech, recently wrote to FTC chair Lina Khan: “According to disclosures and evidence provided by Peiter ‘Mudge’ Zatko, a highly-respected cybersecurity expert who served as Twitter’s Security Lead from 2020 to 2022, Twitter executives allegedly failed to address significant security vulnerabilities, neglected the mishandling of personal data, and ignored known privacy risks to users for more than a decade.”