Twitter employees are worried about China’s access to the platform and user data, a whistleblower testified Tuesday.
The whistleblower, former Twitter Head of Security Peiter Zatko, discussed Twitter’s security practices and fears that foreign entities could access user data in an appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Zatko said he was told about some internal conflicts between teams of employees regarding data access and business dealings with China.
“We’re already in bed, it would be problematic if we lost that revenue stream, so figure out a way to make people comfortable with it,” Zatko said he was told when he brought up the concerns to internal leadership.
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The FBI had told Twitter about at least one Chinese agent at the company, according to Zatko’s disclosures. He also implied that the company failed to track or log the activities of employees, including those with foreign connections. He also claims that the company “lacked the ability to hunt for foreign intelligence agents and expel them on our own.”
Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal was invited to appear before Congress on Tuesday, according to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA). Still, he declined to do so due to the ongoing legal trial between Twitter and Elon Musk. Grassley berated Agrawal, saying the security problems raised by Zatko are more important than his litigation and that Agrawal should step down if these claims are true.
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Zatko filed a Securities and Exchange Commission whistleblower complaint in July claiming that the company had failed to protect user data adequately and did not take proper action to uphold its 2011 settlement with the Federal Trade Commission for failing to safeguard user information.
Twitter agreed to pay Zatko a $7.75 million settlement days before he filed his original whistleblower complaint against the company, according to the Wall Street Journal. The settlement included a nondisclosure agreement forbidding him from speaking publicly about his time at Twitter.
The former hacker, known as “Mudge,” was also subpoenaed by Musk’s legal team for documents related to his claims. He was also referenced in Musk’s second and third attempts to terminate his deal with Twitter on Aug. 30.
