PARIS — France's data protection watchdog CNIL is investigating a whistleblower's claims that Twitter made "egregious" misrepresentations to international regulators about its data security measures.
"The CNIL is currently studying the complaint filed to the [U.S.] Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice," the French agency said in a statement Wednesday. "If the accusations are correct, the CNIL could take action leading to legal proceedings or a sanction, if it's clear there were breaches."
The Washington Post
first reported Tuesday that Twitter’s former head of security Peiter
Zatko made the accusations in a complaint alleging that the tech company
violated the terms of a settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade
Commission by falsely claiming it had a solid security plan. Zatko also
said that privacy should become Twitter’s No. 1 priority “in light of
the egregious and ongoing misrepresentations to the FTC, French and
Irish regulators,” according to the complaint. (...)
