Twitter whistleblower has never reported spam accounts internally

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 US national security and misleading investors and regulators.

The publication of his allegations has given Zatko a direct seat in the takeover dispute between Twitter and Elon Musk. He is scheduled to testify in the lawsuit on September 9th. But before now has Twitter classified the statements of his ex-employee.

Twitter whistleblower never complained internally

In a hearing before the responsible court, a lawyer from Twitter has now commented on whistleblower Peiter Zatko. This claims that the company has not responded adequately to spam and bot accounts.

However, the ex-security chief never expressed 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 all changed, however, when Zatko published his allegations – or as Twitter puts it, “parroting” Musk’s allegations. This is “very, very strange,” added the Twitter attorney.

Zatko was not responsible for spam accounts at Twitter

For Elon Musk, the accusations made by the Twitter whistleblower were of course very convenient. They offer him fodder in his dispute with Twitter to legally push through the withdrawal from the takeover of the platform.

But the calculation might not add up. Because as Twitter is now saying, dealing with the problem with spam and bot accounts was not part of Zatko’s “portfolio”.

This is the first time Twitter has officially rejected the allegations made by its ex-security chief. The company has already handed over the internal documents to the whistleblower. “Twitter has nothing to hide,” says the Twitter attorney.

What’s next in the Twitter vs. Musk process?

According to Elon Musk’s lawyers, the start of the trial could be delayed even further. Because the current negotiation date in October is “not remotely feasible”.

The lawsuit is a fast-moving case. In order to preserve justice, the trial should be postponed, according to Elon Musk’s lawyers. It’s about “the trade-off between speed and finding the truth”.

The team around the Tesla boss has therefore also submitted an application to postpone the hearing date to the beginning of December. Judge McCormick has yet to make a decision on this.

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