Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

EU privacy enforcer puts Elon Musk on notice as Twitter melts down

EU privacy enforcer puts Elon Musk on notice as Twitter melts down

Irish Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon is worried about verification and job losses

Add this to the list of Elon Musk's problems at Twitter: The work he'll have to do convincing Europe's top privacy enforcer that his platform isn't breaking the law.

Ireland's data protection chief — who oversees Twitter's operations in Europe — told POLITICO she is worried about a range of issues at the platform, namely a paid membership program that allowed fraudsters to impersonate real accounts and sent out false messages and wrought havoc on the share prices of major firms.

The fake accounts that popped up after Musk introduced a paid-for "blue check" verification program – now on hold – raise potential problems under Europe's privacy rulebook, Irish Data Protection Commissioner Helen Dixon said on the sidelines of a conference in Brussels.

"We're now proactively engaging [with Twitter] and asking, 'look, there is a lot of reporting around changes to verified accounts and blue ticks and phishing accounts. What risk assessments are being run and what are the implications for European users?" she said.

Dixon added that she would be "probing" these points with Twitter's acting privacy chief, Renato Leite Monteiro, who's been in his new job for just over a week and at Twitter since 2020.

Twitter's hemorrhaging of staffers who engage with regulators and investigators is another worry for Dixon, whose office has imposed fines totaling more than €600 million since the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came online in 2018. Damien Kieran, an Irishman formerly in charge of privacy at Twitter, and the firm's chief information security officer, Lea Kissinger, were among hundreds of Twitter employees to depart the company in a round of layoffs on November 10.

"Security is clearly part of data protection. And of course, we've also read that the chief security officer is gone," said Dixon.

While Dixon said the new privacy chief had reassured her about compliance, it's not clear whether enough staff remains to engage with any legal enquiries from regulators. Dublin already has two open investigations into Twitter that predate Musk's arrival, and Dixon said her office would be "probing" the company's directors about the blue tick program and any other privacy matters that may arise.

"We have, interestingly, of course, got an investigation underway into Twitter security," she said. "We're at the stage of having a final inquiry report, and then I will proceed to make the decision in relation to what the investigators in my office established. So that would be an interesting exercise in terms of sending that out to Twitter, looking at the submissions that they make on us, and testing the accuracy of the factual descriptions that we have," she said.

"And, you know, we won't be idle in terms of probing what is happening," she added.


Last days of Twitter?


Amid the latest wave of resignations, speculation about a collapse of the platform and his diminishing personal wealth, scrutiny from Dublin may not be top of mind for Musk.

But the risk of falling afoul of EU privacy law would add to the financial misery for the billionaire, who paid $44 billion for a company experts say is now worth a fraction of that price.

Elon Musk is handling the latest wave of resignations, speculation about a collapse of Twitter and his diminishing personal wealth


If Dixon's investigators find that Twitter has violated the GDPR, the firm could be on the hook for fines amounting to up to 4 percent of its global turnover, or more than a billion dollars according to the firm's value when it delisted from the New York Stock Exchange on November 8.

Already, other European privacy watchdogs are pressing Dixon for answers about what's going on at Twitter. "Are you satisfied? What have we been told? What are we proactively doing? You know, what are the next steps? What impact has it on the investigations that they're aware we have underway already?" she said of their questions.

"I've chatted to them here, but we may try to do something more systemically with all 27 [European data protection authorities)," said Dixon, whose office is in charge of overseeing Twitter's operations across the EU, in coordination with other national watchdogs.

The answer to the question "what's going on at Twitter" is a dizzying one.

In the past few hours alone, dozens more employees have announced they are leaving Twitter, including staff on key engineering teams in charge of making sure the site is operating properly.

Previous rounds saw an exodus of support staff, including Twitter's chief lobbyist in Brussels, Stephen Turner, and key compliance roles.

Dixon said she'd met with Kieran, the former privacy chief, on November 8, only to discover two days later that he'd been laid off. And while he has been quickly replaced, it's unclear who else is in place to answer Dixon's questions.

"There are other things around the office of the Data Protection Officer, it strikes us, that are going to be important, for example, in transparency, and in responsiveness terms to data subjects around the exercise of their rights," she said.

"And we're certainly having it reported to us that journalists are finding it difficult to get people to speak," she said. "So we will have to examine carefully whether data subjects are complaining to us that they're having trouble exercising rights or getting responses or getting accurate and up-to-date information on the website."

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
EU Majority Demands Hungary Reverse Anti-LGBTQ+ Laws
Top Hotel Picks for 2025 Stays in Budapest Revealed
Iron Maiden Unveils 2025 Tour Setlist in Budapest
Chinese Film Week Opens in Budapest to Promote Cultural Exchange
Budapest Airport Launches Direct Flights to Shymkent
Von der Leyen Denies Urging EU Officials to Skip Budapest Pride
Alcaraz and Sinner Advance with Convincing Wins at Roland Garros
EU Ministers Lack Consensus on Sanctioning Hungary Over Rule of Law
EU Nations Urge Action Against Hungary's Pride Parade Ban
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
U.S. Considers Withdrawing Troops from Europe
Russia Deploys Motorbike Squads in Ukraine Conflict
Critics Accuse European Court of Human Rights of Overreach
Spain Proposes 100% Tax on Non-EU Holiday Home Purchases
German Intelligence Labels AfD as Far-Right Extremist
Geert Wilders Threatens Dutch Coalition Over Migration Policy
Hungary Faces Multiple Challenges Amid EU Tensions and Political Shifts
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Any trade deal with US must be based on respect not threats', says EU commissioner
UK Leads in Remote Work Adoption, Averaging 1.8 Days a Week
Thirteen Killed in Russian Attacks Across Ukraine
High-Profile Incidents and Political Developments Dominate Global News
Netanyahu Accuses Western Leaders of 'Emboldening Hamas'
Ukraine and Russia Conduct Largest Prisoner Exchange of the War
×