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One of the top Republicans in Congress called for an investigation of Twitter over the bombshell whistleblower complaint accusing the social media company of lying about bots, The Post has learned.
NY Rep. Elise Stefanik, chair of the House Republican Conference, said Wednesday the accusations leveled by Twitter’s former head of security Peiter Zatko are a direct threat to national security.
Zatko’s complaint filed with the Federal Trade Commission in July alleged “extreme, egregious deficiencies” in Twitter’s security measures against hackers.
It also claimed “one or more current employees may be working for foreign intelligence services,” according to CNN.
“Twitter was not only deliberately hiding the amount of bot accounts, but they also allegedly had foreign agents working for the platform,” Stefanik, the No. 3-ranked GOP member in the House, told The Post in an exclusive interview.
Twitter did not respond to a request for comment from The Post.
Zatko is slated to appear in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee for a hearing Sept. 13. Stefanik wants her investigation to focus specifically into how Twitter suppressed stories the social media giant disagreed with.
“The key here is exposing how the intelligence community worked with Twitter to push stories they want from bots — and suppressed others, namely the Hunter Biden laptop story,” she told The Post.
Twitter briefly suspended The Post’s account in 2020 after the laptop exposé revealed the existence of tens of thousands of emails between the president’s son and business associates. The emails revealed how Biden’s son leveraged his political access in his overseas business dealings.
A Republican-led investigation would only come if the GOP managed to wrest control of the House in the upcoming midterms.
“For far too long Big Tech has operated with unchecked power. It is time their unchecked power comes to an end,” Stefanik said.
Zatko’s allegations — which surfaced last week — alleged Twitter was lax with user data, had failed to implement basic security measures, and underreported the number of bots on its website.
Twitter has denied those claims.
Zatko’s complaint led Elon Musk to request the chance to amend his suit against Twitter in the mogul’s bid to wriggle free from the $44 billion deal to buy the company.
The five-day trial is scheduled to begin in Delaware Chancery Court on Oct. 17. Musk has asked for the trial to be pushed back to November.
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