U.S. securities regulators are questioning Twitter about how it calculates the number of fake accounts on its platform.
TwitterThe Securities and Exchange Commission in June asked the company about its methodology for calculating the false or spam accounts and “the underlying judgments and assumptions used by management.”The agency’s Division of Corporation Finance made the request in a June 15 letter, shortly before Tesla CEO Elon Musk raised the issue as grounds to back out of a deal to buy Twitter for $44 billion.
The letter says that Twitter makes its estimates of false accounts with an internal review of sample accounts. The number of fake accounts “represent the average false or spam accounts in the samples during each monthly analysis period during a quarter,” the letter said.It added that fewer than 5% of Twitter’s “Monetizable Daily Active Usage or Users,” or mDAU, were fake accounts in the fourth quarter of last year, the period that the SEC had questioned.
Among Zatko’s most serious accusations is that Twitter violated the terms of a 2011 FTC settlement by falsely claiming that it had put stronger measures in place to protect the security and privacy of its users. Zatko also accuses the company of deceptions involving its handling of “spam” or fake accounts, an allegation that is at the core of Musk’s attempt to back out of the Twitter takeover.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Whistleblower accuses Twitter of cybersecurity negligenceA former head of security at Twitter alleged that the company misled regulators about its cybersecurity defenses, privacy protections and its ability to detect and root out fake account.
Read more »
A former employee accuses Twitter of big security lapses in a whistleblower complaintTwitter's former security head is accusing the company of ignoring major security vulnerabilities and misrepresenting the number of fake accounts on the platform.
Read more »
Elon Musk demands Jack Dorsey turn over Twitter info on fake accountsTesla CEO Elon Musk is asking Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey to hand over documents tied to a legal fight that will determine whether Musk will have to buy the social media company for $44 billion... via YahooFinance
Read more »
Twitter Lied About ‘Extreme, Egregious’ Security Lapses, According to Fired ExecSenior Twitter executives deceived regulators — and the company’s own board — about lax security standards and its efforts to fight spam bots, according to an SEC complaint filed …
Read more »
Tesla Fans Put Child in Path of Moving Tesla on Self-Driving ModeTesla owner behind the Twitter account Whole Mars Blog actually chose to throw a live child in front of a moving car over the weekend to prove a point.
Read more »
Musk subpoenas Dorsey in battle over Twitter buyoutMusk's legal team is looking for Dorsey to provide information pertaining to Twitter's user base and the number of spam accounts on its platform.
Read more »