FTC investigates privacy and security policies at Twitter after takeover by Elon Musk

The US Federal Trade Commission is investigating Twitter’s privacy and security policies. The regulator is said to have started a new investigation into Twitter’s policy after the takeover by Elon Musk.

The FTC reportedly questioned at least two former senior Twitter employees in the past month; that three different sources told Bloomberg. The regulator wants to know whether Twitter is still doing enough to properly secure Twitter. Twitter reached a settlement in 2010 with the FTC, after the regulator concluded that Twitter mishandled users’ private data.

The case was once again controversial when whistleblower Peiter Zatko came forward with accusations against Twitter at the beginning of this year. The former Twitter security employee claimed that the company would not comply with the agreements made with the FTC in 2010. Now the regulator is once again putting Twitter under a magnifying glass to check whether Twitter is doing enough to protect user data.

Twitter was previously fined $150 million by the FTC for using users’ phone numbers to serve ads. Users had to provide the phone numbers to provide their account with two-step verification.

The FTC does not want to comment on the investigation to Bloomberg. In November, the company confirmed that it was closely monitoring developments at Twitter.