Twitter whistleblower Peiter “Mudge” Zatko is set to testify before Congress Tuesday in his first public appearance since his bombshell allegations against the social media company were reported last month by CNN and The Washington Post.
Lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee are expected to question Zatko on his claims that Twitter has undisclosed security and privacy vulnerabilities that could threaten users, investors and even US national security.
What Zatko says during Tuesday’s hearing could lay the groundwork for deeper probes by Congress, federal regulators and law enforcement officials. His testimony could also further complicate the legal battle over Twitter’s agreement to be acquired by billionaire Elon Musk, and comes on the same day that Twitter shareholders are scheduled to vote on the deal.
In a whistleblower disclosure sent to multiple lawmakers and government agencies in July, Zatko accused Twitter of failing to safeguard users’ personal information and of exposing the most sensitive parts of its operation to too many people, including potentially to foreign spies. Zatko — who was Twitter’s head of security from November 2020 until he was fired in January — also alleged company executives, including CEO Parag Agrawal, have deliberately misled regulators and the company’s own board about its shortcomings.
Twitter has criticized Zatko and broadly defended itself against the allegations, saying the disclosure pain