Elon Musk invites a Twitter leaker to provide information on spam and security

As he tries to get out of his deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has called a Twitter Inc whistleblower and asked for information on the company's spam and claimed security flaws, according to a court filing on Monday.

Musk principally wanted to know how Twitter measures spam accounts, according to whistleblower Peiter Zatko. Because Twitter deceived him and regulators about the actual amount of spam or bot accounts on the microblogging platform, Musk has stated that he is pulling out of the agreement for the company.

But Musk also requested contacts and documents about suspected efforts to conceal security flaws, adherence to a 2011 deal with the Federal Trade Commission, and "Twitter's complicity in any illicit action."

A Twitter spokesperson declined to respond.

Why is the information crucial?

Famous hacker "Mudge" Zatko left his position as Twitter's security chief earlier this year, and he claimed in a whistleblower lawsuit that was made public last week that the business had misrepresented its security measures.

According to Ann Lipton, a professor at Tulane University Law School, the material that Musk acquires from Zatko may be the foundation for the Tesla Inc. chief executive to present new fraud accusations in his legal dispute with Twitter.
She said that given the case's tight deadline and the fact that Musk relinquished his right to a trial, it was uncertain if the Twitter litigation court would permit Musk to present those allegations.

WHAT WAS SAID ON TWITTER
At a court hearing last week, a Twitter lawyer claimed that Musk's emphasis on spam as a justification for terminating his purchase agreement with the company was "legally irrelevant" because Twitter consistently stated that its spam counts were only estimates and not legally binding representations.

On October 17, a five-day trial will begin after both parties have filed lawsuits against one another. Twitter is requesting that Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery order Musk to purchase the firm for the agreed-upon $54.20 per share since Musk wants to back out of the arrangement.

In New York, Twitter's shares dropped 1% to close the day at $40.04.