Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
AEOI Chief Mohammad Eslami: We witnessed new, stricter stances from European countries since signing new agreement with IAEA
Saree: Our UAV force targeted the so-called Ramon Airport in the Umm al-Rashrash area in southern occupied Palestine
YAF spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree: Our rocket force carried out an operation with a Palestine 2 hypersonic ballistic missile targeting a sensitive target in the occupied Yafa area
Trump administration clears first Ukraine arms aid package paid for by allies: Reuters, citing sources
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman receives Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani at his office in Al-Yamamah Palace
Wakim: Surrender is not in our dictionary, and it is not true that "Israel" can implement its project in Lebanon and the region
Wakim: The US is preventing the armament of the Lebanese army. The question is, why are the weapons it is handed over by the Resistance being destroyed?
Wakim: The Resistance is required to hand over its weapons to the [current] authority. The question is: Is this authority independent or subservient to America?
Wakim: The Resistance in Lebanon has suffered blows but has not been defeated
Israeli media: Sirens sound in al-Quds, central region, following the detection of a missile launch from Yemen

Musk lawyers seize on Twitter whistleblower revelations

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 25 Aug 2022 09:49
4 Min Read

This comes as part of an attempt to force the platform to hand over vast amounts of information in the fight to cancel the billionaire's buyout bid.

  • x
  • Elon Musk (Jim Watson/AFP)
    Elon Musk attempted to back out of the $44 billion deal by claiming Twitter misled him. (AFP)

Elon Musk's lawyers seized on the revelations of a Twitter whistleblower on Wednesday, attempting to force the platform to hand over vast amounts of information in their fight to cancel the billionaire's buyout bid.

The Tesla CEO's team told a US judge that the former Twitter security chief's allegations of major security flaws and questionable practices had bolstered their case, which had been stalled in court.

Musk attempted to back out of the $44 billion deal by claiming Twitter misled him about the number of false or spam accounts, prompting strong denials and a lawsuit from the social media company.

Read next: Twitter calls bluff on Musk's reasons for backing out of merger

In a 90-minute hearing on what data the firm should be forced to hand over ahead of their October trial, Musk attorney Alex Spiro repeatedly cited Twitter whistleblower Peiter Zatko.

"The way Mr. Zatko puts it, management had no appetite to properly measure the prevalence of bot accounts," Spiro told Judge Kathaleen McCormick in a court in the eastern state of Delaware.

Twitter won some early battles in the case, including a quick trial date, and its stock had risen as analysts predicted the platform would triumph over the volatile billionaire. Nonetheless, Musk's attorneys have used Zatko's whistleblower complaint to US authorities, which surfaced on Tuesday, to try to gain momentum in the case.

'They want a do-over' 

Related News

Tesla ordered to pay $243 million in Florida autopilot crash verdict

Musk’s AfD endorsement fuels Tesla backlash in German factory town

Spiro attempted to persuade the judge to order Twitter to turn over billions of "data points", including user phone numbers and locations, arguing that the information is required to prove Twitter was deceptive about spam accounts.

Twitter lawyer Bradley Wilson responded that the company had deceived no one and that Musk wants a "do-over" on questions he should have asked before making his unsolicited buyout offer earlier this year.

Read next: Twitter to pay $150m to settle claims of users’ data misuse

While Twitter has pointed out that Musk did not perform the typical due diligence seen in merger deals, Spiro told the judge that the billionaire relied on the firm's SEC filings (SEC).

The market regulator was one of the recipients of Zatko's complaint, which accuses Twitter of making false statements about account numbers because "accurate measurements would harm the company's image and valuation."

It was unclear whether the complaint and its use by Musk's lawyers would alter the course of the case.

The judge has yet to rule on Musk's attorneys' data requests, and Zatko's impact may become clearer after his scheduled testimony before US lawmakers on September 13.

Read next: Musk subpoenas former Twitter CEO Dorsey

Twitter opposes handing over certain types of data for a variety of reasons, including the risk of violating user privacy, which is protected by law, according to its attorney Wilson. "They want a do-over; they want to recount the spam," he said of Musk's team.

"They want to get all of the information that the reviewers had so that they can have their experts, I presume, do a count of their own and see if they can come up with a different number."

Even if Musk's experts reach a different conclusion about the number of spam accounts on Twitter, the breach would not be significant enough to allow Musk to breach the buyout contract, according to Twitter attorneys.

  • Tesla
  • Elon Musk
  • Twitter

Most Read

Pro-"Israel" conservative Charlie Kirk shot during Utah speech

American far-right activist Charlie Kirk shot dead during Utah speech

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025
A screengrab from the ad played on Fox News. (X Screengrab)

Fox airs ad warning Trump not to let Netanyahu 'play' him on Gaza

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

  • Palestine
  • 14 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
'Israel’s' Qatar strike backfires, fueling diplomatic fallout
Politics

'Israel’s' Qatar strike backfires, fueling diplomatic fallout

'Israel' committing genocide in Gaza, UN Commission declares
Politics

'Israel' committing genocide in Gaza, UN Commission declares

Rubio supports Gaza offensive, warns few days left for diplomacy
Palestine

Rubio supports Gaza occupation, warns of tight window for deal

US adds Colombia to drug list, drawing Petro’s rebuke
Politics

US adds Colombia to drug list, drawing Petro’s rebuke

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS