Elon Musk has filed a new petition urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to terminate its long-standing data privacy oversight of X — the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Musk argues that the FTC’s order should be dismissed because Twitter no longer exists as an independent entity, having been merged into Musk’s other ventures, including xAI and SpaceX. However, this move has met resistance from privacy advocates and public commenters concerned about Musk’s commitment to safeguarding user data.
The FTC’s authority to enforce strict data-use limitations on X dates back to shortly before Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. The commission imposed a 20-year order that mandates regular independent audits and gives the agency power to request documents to verify compliance. This order followed a major privacy incident revealed by Twitter, in which a coding flaw exposed users’ phone numbers and email addresses provided for two-factor authentication to targeted advertising purposes.
Twitter agreed to a substantial settlement that included a monetary penalty and extended FTC supervision through 2042 to prevent future misuse of user data. Musk challenged the order in 2023, accusing the FTC of overreach and bias, but a court rejected his request to revoke it. The FTC countered that Musk’s takeover had heightened concerns about compliance, especially after he significantly downsized Twitter’s workforce, including key personnel tasked with protecting user privacy controls.
The commission's filings cited testimony from a former engineer who confirmed that layoffs and internal cost cuts weakened X’s technical safeguards on how contact data was used. The FTC also noted troubling internal incidents, such as Musk demanding accelerated access for journalists investigating the so-called “Twitter Files” and threatening to fire employees who resisted policy changes. These events, along with reported acts of staff defiance to maintain compliance amid managerial pressure, underscored the agency’s ongoing concerns.
Declining platform functionality alongside Musk’s restructuring raised alarms about potential lapses in adherence to the order. The FTC argued it had solid grounds to continue its oversight, pointing to persistent risks to user privacy and the erosion of the internal controls originally put in place to secure sensitive data. Despite Musk’s insistence that the corporate evolution of Twitter into X and its absorption into other Musk enterprises renders the order obsolete, the agency and petition commentators warn that abandoning monitoring could jeopardize crucial consumer protections.