The House Judiciary Committee accused the Federal Trade Commission and its chairwoman, Lina Khan, of taking action against the Elon Musk-controlled Twitter for political reasons.
Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) claims that the FTC delayed its actions against Twitter over a self-reported privacy issue from 2019. The company reached a settlement with the FTC in 2021 but declined to act on the matter until May 2022, when Musk was all but confirmed to purchase the company for $44 billion.
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“A close examination of the information provided suggests that there is an unjustified approximate one-year gap in the FTC’s actions with respect to Twitter,” Jordan wrote in a letter sent to FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan on Thursday. “A reasonable conclusion is that neither you nor Acting Chair Slaughter seriously planned to take action against Twitter until political pressure arose given Mr. Musk’s impending acquisition.”
Jordan subpoenaed Khan in April, asking for documents and internal communications related to the FTC investigation into the company after Musk made his initial offer.
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The FTC has sent dozens of letters to Twitter employees since Musk’s takeover in October, requesting information about layoffs and the company’s process of sharing internal documents with reporters. The agency also sought all communications “related to Elon Musk,” initially scheduling a deposition with the billionaire in early February. That meeting was later delayed.
