GoKawiilAhead of a July 2 deadline to submit public comments, advocates are warning the Federal Trade Commission that it must keep close watch over Elon Musk’s X and firmly reject a recent bid to end the agency’s ongoing audits of the platform’s data handling.
Last month, the FTC posted a notice explaining that X had argued that an FTC order was no longer necessary due to changes Musk had made to the platform.
The initial order came as a penalty after the FTC found that a coding error had caused then-Twitter to improperly share users’ contact information for ad targeting that had initially been submitted for two-factor authentication. Under the order, X is subjected to costly independent audits, and the FTC has authority to demand documents to ensure compliance with data privacy laws without taking additional legal action.
According to X, the order imposes burdensome costs and should be terminated, partly because the company has completely rebranded since Musk took over Twitter. X also argued that the order’s requirements were duplicative since X now faces similar obligations under the European Union’s General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR).
However, 15 privacy and consumer protection advocates—including Demand Progress, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, and the National Consumers League—co-signed a letter this week refuting all of X’s arguments.
They’re urging the FTC to “unequivocally reject X Corp.’s brazen attempt to escape accountability at the expense of the American people.”
“X Corp.’s petition fails to clear the demanding legal standard necessary to grant the extraordinary action the corporation is requesting,” the letter said. “To the contrary, X Corp. and its current leadership present a serious risk to Americans’ privacy and data security, demonstrating the need for continued” FTC oversight.
X’s AI training and tools raise red flags
Musk’s big argument seems to be that since he’s rebranded Twitter as X, then folded X into SpaceX, that the old Twitter business has been transformed and there is no longer a risk of X’s improper data handling.