Spokesmen for Tesla’s CEO said allegations of “extensive misconduct” on Twitter by Peter Zatko, the company’s former chief security officer, constituted a further breach of the agreement. Zatko, who was fired by Twitter in January, filed a complaint against Twitter in which he warned that the company was “grossly negligent in several areas of information security.” Musk subpoenaed Zatko, which means he will be asked to provide evidence for an upcoming trial over the termination of the deal, which begins on October 17. “These allegations, if true, establish that Twitter breached the following provisions of the merger agreement, thereby giving the Musk parties the right to terminate the merger agreement,” Musk’s lawyers said in a letter sent to Twitter on Monday and disclosed on Tuesday. The move could force a delay in the Delaware lawsuit in which Twitter is trying to force Musk to buy the company because the company would have to address the allegations in its original lawsuit. Zatko claimed that about 30% of the company’s laptops automatically blocked updates that included security fixes. user data, including that from Twitter’s most high-profile verified handles, is vulnerable to hacking. and the company’s board of directors were misled about these vulnerabilities. The letter said Zatko’s allegations constituted a “corporate material adverse effect” that materially altered the value of the business and therefore rendered the deal void. These include non-compliance with data privacy laws and regulations, as well as non-compliance with an agreement with the US Federal Data Protection Commission in 2011 to better protect user data. Other examples of material negative effects arising from Zatko’s complaint are an impending flurry of official investigations and civil lawsuits triggered by his disclosures, Twitter said, and the violation of intellectual property rights by failing to secure rights to the company’s machine learning models. He adds that Twitter said it would not face significant negative impact before the deal closed — but Zatko’s allegations represent just such a situation. The complaint adds that Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal breached the agreement by failing to disclose to the board an internal report prepared by Zatko in early 2022. It also alleges that Twitter committed fraud by failing to disclose privacy, data protection , the security and cybersecurity risks raised by Zatko, which gives Musk the right to “back out” – or tear down the contract. Brian Quinn, a professor at Boston College Law School, said Twitter would have to update its original lawsuit and that Musk would seek to delay the trial as a result, having originally argued for a trial date next year to give him more time to prepare his case. “When Twitter amends its complaint, it is possible that Musk will point to the amended complaint as a reason for delaying the trial. And the court, I suppose, will seek to grant that request,” he said. Carl Tobias, the Williams chair at the University of Richmond, said there would be further legal skirmishes ahead of the trial, but both sides had reason to seek a settlement. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “In the end, it appears that both sides have reason to compromise because each faces risks in the trial and little to gain from completing a deal that neither appears to want now.” Musk’s lawyers added that the new filing was not “legally necessary” because they already believe the multi-billionaire has strong enough grounds to walk away from the deal based on his original filing announcing the termination, which was filed on July 8. However, the latest filing said the new termination notice could be used if the July notice was “determined to be invalid for any reason.” Zatko’s claim that Twitter executives are not motivated to accurately identify spam bots on the platform was not included in the updated termination notice. However, the original termination statement focused heavily on bots — aggressive accounts not operated by humans — and Zatko’s claims are expected to grow in support of that argument. A Twitter spokesperson said the letter was based on statements by Zatko that “are full of inconsistencies and inaccuracies and lack meaningful context.” They added: “Contrary to the allegations in Mr. Musk’s letter, Twitter has not breached any of its representations or obligations under the Agreement, and Twitter has not suffered and is not likely to suffer a Company Material Adverse Effect. Twitter intends to enforce the agreement and close the transaction at the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk.”

title: “Elon Musk Adds Whistleblower Allegations To List Of Reasons For Ending Twitter Deal Elon Musk Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-20” author: “Betty Suennen”

Spokesmen for Tesla’s CEO said allegations of “extensive misconduct” on Twitter by Peter Zatko, the company’s former chief security officer, constituted a further breach of the agreement. Zatko, who was fired by Twitter in January, filed a complaint against Twitter in which he warned that the company was “grossly negligent in several areas of information security.” Musk subpoenaed Zatko, which means he will be asked to provide evidence for an upcoming trial over the termination of the deal, which begins on October 17. “These allegations, if true, establish that Twitter breached the following provisions of the merger agreement, thereby giving the Musk parties the right to terminate the merger agreement,” Musk’s lawyers said in a letter sent to Twitter on Monday and disclosed on Tuesday. The move could force a delay in the Delaware lawsuit in which Twitter is trying to force Musk to buy the company because the company would have to address the allegations in its original lawsuit. Zatko claimed that about 30% of the company’s laptops automatically blocked updates that included security fixes. user data, including that from Twitter’s most high-profile verified handles, is vulnerable to hacking. and the company’s board of directors were misled about these vulnerabilities. The letter said Zatko’s allegations constituted a “corporate material adverse effect” that materially altered the value of the business and therefore rendered the deal void. These include non-compliance with data privacy laws and regulations, as well as non-compliance with an agreement with the US Federal Data Protection Commission in 2011 to better protect user data. Other examples of material negative effects arising from Zatko’s complaint are an impending flurry of official investigations and civil lawsuits triggered by his disclosures, Twitter said, and the violation of intellectual property rights by failing to secure rights to the company’s machine learning models. He adds that Twitter said it would not face significant negative impact before the deal closed — but Zatko’s allegations represent just such a situation. The complaint adds that Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal breached the agreement by failing to disclose to the board an internal report prepared by Zatko in early 2022. It also alleges that Twitter committed fraud by failing to disclose privacy, data protection , the security and cybersecurity risks raised by Zatko, which gives Musk the right to “back out” – or tear down the contract. Brian Quinn, a professor at Boston College Law School, said Twitter would have to update its original lawsuit and that Musk would seek to delay the trial as a result, having originally argued for a trial date next year to give him more time to prepare his case. “When Twitter amends its complaint, it is possible that Musk will point to the amended complaint as a reason for delaying the trial. And the court, I suppose, will seek to grant that request,” he said. Carl Tobias, the Williams chair at the University of Richmond, said there would be further legal skirmishes ahead of the trial, but both sides had reason to seek a settlement. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “In the end, it appears that both sides have reason to compromise because each faces risks in the trial and little to gain from completing a deal that neither appears to want now.” Musk’s lawyers added that the new filing was not “legally necessary” because they already believe the multi-billionaire has strong enough grounds to walk away from the deal based on his original filing announcing the termination, which was filed on July 8. However, the latest filing said the new termination notice could be used if the July notice was “determined to be invalid for any reason.” Zatko’s claim that Twitter executives are not motivated to accurately identify spam bots on the platform was not included in the updated termination notice. However, the original termination statement focused heavily on bots — aggressive accounts not operated by humans — and Zatko’s claims are expected to grow in support of that argument. A Twitter spokesperson said the letter was based on statements by Zatko that “are full of inconsistencies and inaccuracies and lack meaningful context.” They added: “Contrary to the allegations in Mr. Musk’s letter, Twitter has not breached any of its representations or obligations under the Agreement, and Twitter has not suffered and is not likely to suffer a Company Material Adverse Effect. Twitter intends to enforce the agreement and close the transaction at the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk.”

title: “Elon Musk Adds Whistleblower Allegations To List Of Reasons For Ending Twitter Deal Elon Musk Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-09” author: “Michele Webb”

Spokesmen for Tesla’s CEO said allegations of “extensive misconduct” on Twitter by Peter Zatko, the company’s former chief security officer, constituted a further breach of the agreement. Zatko, who was fired by Twitter in January, filed a complaint against Twitter in which he warned that the company was “grossly negligent in several areas of information security.” Musk subpoenaed Zatko, which means he will be asked to provide evidence for an upcoming trial over the termination of the deal, which begins on October 17. “These allegations, if true, establish that Twitter breached the following provisions of the merger agreement, thereby giving the Musk parties the right to terminate the merger agreement,” Musk’s lawyers said in a letter sent to Twitter on Monday and disclosed on Tuesday. The move could force a delay in the Delaware lawsuit in which Twitter is trying to force Musk to buy the company because the company would have to address the allegations in its original lawsuit. Zatko claimed that about 30% of the company’s laptops automatically blocked updates that included security fixes. user data, including that from Twitter’s most high-profile verified handles, is vulnerable to hacking. and the company’s board of directors were misled about these vulnerabilities. The letter said Zatko’s allegations constituted a “corporate material adverse effect” that materially altered the value of the business and therefore rendered the deal void. These include non-compliance with data privacy laws and regulations, as well as non-compliance with an agreement with the US Federal Data Protection Commission in 2011 to better protect user data. Other examples of material negative effects arising from Zatko’s complaint are an impending flurry of official investigations and civil lawsuits triggered by his disclosures, Twitter said, and the violation of intellectual property rights by failing to secure rights to the company’s machine learning models. He adds that Twitter said it would not face significant negative impact before the deal closed — but Zatko’s allegations represent just such a situation. The complaint adds that Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal breached the agreement by failing to disclose to the board an internal report prepared by Zatko in early 2022. It also alleges that Twitter committed fraud by failing to disclose privacy, data protection , the security and cybersecurity risks raised by Zatko, which gives Musk the right to “back out” – or tear down the contract. Brian Quinn, a professor at Boston College Law School, said Twitter would have to update its original lawsuit and that Musk would seek to delay the trial as a result, having originally argued for a trial date next year to give him more time to prepare his case. “When Twitter amends its complaint, it is possible that Musk will point to the amended complaint as a reason for delaying the trial. And the court, I suppose, will seek to grant that request,” he said. Carl Tobias, the Williams chair at the University of Richmond, said there would be further legal skirmishes ahead of the trial, but both sides had reason to seek a settlement. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “In the end, it appears that both sides have reason to compromise because each faces risks in the trial and little to gain from completing a deal that neither appears to want now.” Musk’s lawyers added that the new filing was not “legally necessary” because they already believe the multi-billionaire has strong enough grounds to walk away from the deal based on his original filing announcing the termination, which was filed on July 8. However, the latest filing said the new termination notice could be used if the July notice was “determined to be invalid for any reason.” Zatko’s claim that Twitter executives are not motivated to accurately identify spam bots on the platform was not included in the updated termination notice. However, the original termination statement focused heavily on bots — aggressive accounts not operated by humans — and Zatko’s claims are expected to grow in support of that argument. A Twitter spokesperson said the letter was based on statements by Zatko that “are full of inconsistencies and inaccuracies and lack meaningful context.” They added: “Contrary to the allegations in Mr. Musk’s letter, Twitter has not breached any of its representations or obligations under the Agreement, and Twitter has not suffered and is not likely to suffer a Company Material Adverse Effect. Twitter intends to enforce the agreement and close the transaction at the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk.”

title: “Elon Musk Adds Whistleblower Allegations To List Of Reasons For Ending Twitter Deal Elon Musk Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-12” author: “Raymond Wood”

Spokesmen for Tesla’s CEO said allegations of “extensive misconduct” on Twitter by Peter Zatko, the company’s former chief security officer, constituted a further breach of the agreement. Zatko, who was fired by Twitter in January, filed a complaint against Twitter in which he warned that the company was “grossly negligent in several areas of information security.” Musk subpoenaed Zatko, which means he will be asked to provide evidence for an upcoming trial over the termination of the deal, which begins on October 17. “These allegations, if true, establish that Twitter breached the following provisions of the merger agreement, thereby giving the Musk parties the right to terminate the merger agreement,” Musk’s lawyers said in a letter sent to Twitter on Monday and disclosed on Tuesday. The move could force a delay in the Delaware lawsuit in which Twitter is trying to force Musk to buy the company because the company would have to address the allegations in its original lawsuit. Zatko claimed that about 30% of the company’s laptops automatically blocked updates that included security fixes. user data, including that from Twitter’s most high-profile verified handles, is vulnerable to hacking. and the company’s board of directors were misled about these vulnerabilities. The letter said Zatko’s allegations constituted a “corporate material adverse effect” that materially altered the value of the business and therefore rendered the deal void. These include non-compliance with data privacy laws and regulations, as well as non-compliance with an agreement with the US Federal Data Protection Commission in 2011 to better protect user data. Other examples of material negative effects arising from Zatko’s complaint are an impending flurry of official investigations and civil lawsuits triggered by his disclosures, Twitter said, and the violation of intellectual property rights by failing to secure rights to the company’s machine learning models. He adds that Twitter said it would not face significant negative impact before the deal closed — but Zatko’s allegations represent just such a situation. The complaint adds that Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal breached the agreement by failing to disclose to the board an internal report prepared by Zatko in early 2022. It also alleges that Twitter committed fraud by failing to disclose privacy, data protection , the security and cybersecurity risks raised by Zatko, which gives Musk the right to “back out” – or tear down the contract. Brian Quinn, a professor at Boston College Law School, said Twitter would have to update its original lawsuit and that Musk would seek to delay the trial as a result, having originally argued for a trial date next year to give him more time to prepare his case. “When Twitter amends its complaint, it is possible that Musk will point to the amended complaint as a reason for delaying the trial. And the court, I suppose, will seek to grant that request,” he said. Carl Tobias, the Williams chair at the University of Richmond, said there would be further legal skirmishes ahead of the trial, but both sides had reason to seek a settlement. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. “In the end, it appears that both sides have reason to compromise because each faces risks in the trial and little to gain from completing a deal that neither appears to want now.” Musk’s lawyers added that the new filing was not “legally necessary” because they already believe the multi-billionaire has strong enough grounds to walk away from the deal based on his original filing announcing the termination, which was filed on July 8. However, the latest filing said the new termination notice could be used if the July notice was “determined to be invalid for any reason.” Zatko’s claim that Twitter executives are not motivated to accurately identify spam bots on the platform was not included in the updated termination notice. However, the original termination statement focused heavily on bots — aggressive accounts not operated by humans — and Zatko’s claims are expected to grow in support of that argument. A Twitter spokesperson said the letter was based on statements by Zatko that “are full of inconsistencies and inaccuracies and lack meaningful context.” They added: “Contrary to the allegations in Mr. Musk’s letter, Twitter has not breached any of its representations or obligations under the Agreement, and Twitter has not suffered and is not likely to suffer a Company Material Adverse Effect. Twitter intends to enforce the agreement and close the transaction at the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk.”