the Federal Trade Commission is requesting that Twitter identify all journalists who were involved in the release of the “Twitter Files” among a wide-ranging list of demands issued in the wake of Elon Musk’s takeover of the platform.
The FTC is also requesting that Mr. Musk hand over his reasons for terminating former FBI official Jim Baker, any internal communication “relating to Elon Musk” and details behind the newly instated account subscription model among a list of more than 350 specific demands laid out in 12 separate letters dating back to November of last year.
The commission has also requested details behind the company’s layoffs, citing concerns that the downsizing could infringe on the company’s ability to protect users’ private data.
The letters were disclosed in a 113-page report Tuesday issued by the House Judiciary Committee and the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government alleging overreach on behalf of the FTC and a campaign to “harass Elon Musk’s Twitter.”
The lawmakers behind the report say the demands have “no basis in the FTC’s statutory mission and appear to be the result of partisan pressure to target Twitter and silence Musk.”
