The Federal Trade Commission plans to depose Elon Musk as part of its investigation into Twitterthe social media platform that Musk bought for $44 billion last year, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
Late last year, the FTC deepened an investigation into Twitter’s privacy and data security practices following the company’s takeover by Musk, Bloomberg reported last year. Musk’s deposition would mark an escalation of that investigation.
The FTC has bombarded Twitter with requests for documents, asking the company to turn over communications related to its recent firings, Musk’s leadership and other matters, according to the congressional report. The agency is also requesting documents related to the so-called “Twitter Files,” a project in which Musk gave outside reporters access to internal Twitter information.
Information about the investigation comes from a report released Tuesday by the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, which outlines the FTC’s response to Musk’s takeover of Twitter.
The Wall Street Journal first reported on the FTC’s plans.
“A disgraceful case of weaponizing a government agency for political purposes and suppressing the truth!” Musk posted on Twitter on Tuesday.
Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The FTC declined to comment.
The FTC within three months of Musk’s acquisition sent over a dozen letters to Twitter. In their report, the House Judiciary Committee Republicans claimed that the outreach shows the agency “attempted to harass” the company.
Twitter is currently under a consent decree with the FTC, which means the agency is supposed to monitor the company’s privacy practices. Many of the layoffs under Musk have affected employees responsible for protecting privacy and security on the social media platform.
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