Twitter whistleblower Peiter Zatko never pointed out spam accounts internally. His former employer has now commented on the allegations for the first time.
At the end of September, Twitter’s ex-security chief Peiter Zatko published his allegations. The whistleblower has accused his former employer of endangering U.S. national security and misleading investors and regulators.
The publication of his allegations has directly earned Zatko a place in the takeover dispute between Twitter and Elon Musk. He is scheduled to testify in the legal battle on Sept. 9. But before that, Twitter has now classified the remarks of his ex-employee.
Twitter whistleblower never complained internally
In a hearing before the competent court, a lawyer for Twitter has now commented on whistleblower Peiter Zatko. The latter claimed that the company had not responded sufficiently to spam and bot accounts.
However, the ex-security chief never voiced these concerns during his work, according to a Twitter lawyer. None of the former Twitter employee’s questions had “anything to do with spam.”
That changed sch, however, when Zatko published his allegations – or as Twitter puts it: Musk’s allegations to “parrot.” This was “very, very strange,” the Twitter lawyer added.
Zatko was not responsible for spam accounts at Twitter
For Elon Musk, of course, the Twitter whistleblower allegations came in handy. They provide fodder in his dispute with Twitter to legally push through his withdrawal from the acquisition of the platform.
But the calculation might not work out. Because, as Twitter has now announced, dealing with the problem of spam and bot accounts was not part of Zatko’s “portfolio.”
This is the first time Twitter has officially denied the accusations of its ex-head of security. The company had already handed over the internal documents on the whistleblower, he said. “Twitter has nothing to hide,” says the Twitter lawyer.
Where do things go from here in the Twitter vs. Musk trial?
According to Elon Musk’s lawyers, the start of the trial could be delayed even further. Because the current trial date in October is “not remotely feasible.”
The lawsuit is a fast-moving case, they said. In order to preserve justice, the trial should be postponed, according to Elon Musk’s lawyers. They said it was a matter of “balancing speed against finding the truth.”
The team around the Tesla CEO has therefore also filed a motion to move the trial date to early December. However, Judge McCormick has not yet made a decision on this.
