When a Twitter whistleblower testified at an explosive Senate hearing this week, the social media company wasn't the only one to come under fire. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle repeatedly criticized federal regulators who for years had supposedly been keeping a close eye on the company.
"I'm concerned that for almost 10 years the Federal Trade Commission didn't know or didn't take strong enough action to ensure Twitter complied with the consent decree" it signed with the agency in 2011, said Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Senate Judiciary Committee's top Republican. "Congress should ... be mindful of the FTC's ability, or lack thereof, to successfully oversee these important issues."
Committee chair Dick Durbin also signaled concerns about the FTC when he asked the whistleblower, Peiter "Mudge" Zatko, to grade US regulatory agencies' performance in light of his Twitter allegations.
"Honestly, I think the FTC is a little, you know, over their head," Zatko replied.
The sharp, bipartisan remarks from members of Congress and Zatko, Twitter's (TWTR) head of security from November 2020 until this January, highlight the growing frustration inside and outside Washington about the struggle to hold Silicon Valley accountable after years of scrutiny — even as lawmakers held yet another hearing in an attempt to do just that.
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