Twitter whistleblower claims Indian government placed an agent in the company, was granted access to sensitive user data

• A whistleblower has claimed the Indian government forced Twitter to keep one of its agents on payroll.
• The agent reportedly had access to sensitive user data.
• The whistleblower has also claimed that employees continue to have poorly tracked internal access to core software.

Twitter whistleblower Peiter Zatko, the former head of security at the social media platform, has made several allegations against the company. One of these allegations is that the Indian government forced Twitter to keep one of its agents on its payroll.

According to a report by The Washington Post, Zatko sent a complaint to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last month.

Indian government forced Twitter to employ an agent

One of the allegations by Zatko is that the Indian government forced the social media giant to employ one of its agents on its payroll. The employee was reportedly given access to sensitive user data. The agent was reportedly sent during “a time of intense protests” in India. This is likely a reference to the farmer’s protests in 2021.

Zatko has reportedly sent supporting information for this claim to the National Security Division of the DOJ and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

The complaint also states that thousands of employees at the company continue to have “wide-ranging and poorly tracked internal access to core company software.”

Zatko claims company prioritises user growth over spam reduction

Zatko has also claimed that the company prioritises user growth over spam reduction. He added the executives could receive bonuses of up to $10 million tied to an increase in daily users.

This comes when Twitter is embroiled in a legal battle with Elon Musk after the Tesla co-founder rescinded his offer to buy Twitter over fake accounts on the platform. While the allegations will help Musk, legal experts believe it may not be a huge deal.

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