The subpoena, filed Thursday and publicly filed on Monday, comes days after Zatko publicly whistled at the social media company, alleging it did.
Serious Weaknesses in Privacy and Security It could put users, investors, and US national security at risk. The time for disclosure is
accidentally caughtWhich is
take a lawsuit From
Twitter (TWTR) Which seeks to force him to pursue his $44 billion deal to buy the company, after he tried to terminate the agreement over allegations that Twitter has more spam and fake bot accounts than it publicly discloses. The case is due to go to trial in October.
In the
disclosureZatko claimed that Twitter does not have an accurate count of the number of spam and fake bot accounts on its platform and that the company has little incentive to do a full count of these accounts, allegations that could taint Musk’s claims. Twitter has criticized Zatko and widely rebutted his allegations, saying the disclosure paints a “false narrative” about the company and is “full of contradictions and inaccuracies.”
Musk’s attorney, Alex Spiro, told CNN last week that they had summoned Zatko in the case even before his complaint was made public. in
court session In the case last Wednesday, Spiro mentioned Zatko several times. Spiro suggested during the hearing that the billionaire team does not trust Twitter’s estimate of spam accounts and daily active users (mDAU), a key metric it provides to investors, and said Musk’s team is asking for information that would allow them to test the metrics.
The new subpoena is another indication of how Zatko’s allegations will affect the case. In addition to the filing, Musk’s team also demanded in the subpoena Thursday “books, documents or tangible items in your possession” related to Twitter’s count of spam and fake accounts and its use of MDAU as a key metric.
“Mr. Zatko will comply with his legal obligations in this subpoena and his appearance in the filing is involuntary,” Zatko’s attorneys, Debra Katz and Alexis Ronecker, said in a statement Monday. He added, “He did not disclose the whistleblowers to the appropriate government agencies in favor of Musk or harm Twitter, but rather to protect the American public and Twitter contributors.”
Zatko is also scheduled to testify about his allegations at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on September 13.
