House Republican tries to protect Musk and Twitter from FTC investigation

A Republican lawmaker who chairs a key House committee subpoenaed Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan today in an attempt to rein in the agency's ongoing investigation into Twitter.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the Judiciary Committee and the newly created Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, told Kahn today that his committee's research shows "the FTC harassed Twitter in the wake of Mr. Musk's acquisition" and "abused it [sic] statutory and enforcement authority."

Jordan teamed up with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) last month to demand documents from the FTC about what they called "inappropriate and burdensome demands coinciding with Elon Musk's acquisition of the company." Jordan wasn't happy with Khan's response, so he followed up with today's subpoena.

"To date, your voluntary compliance has been woefully insufficient. Accordingly, the Committee is issuing a subpoena to compel the production of documents necessary to inform our oversight," Jordan wrote in a letter to Khan today.

Khan: We "enforce the law without fear or favor"

In response, an FTC spokesperson told news outlets that "we have made multiple offers to brief Chairman Jordan's staff on our investigation into Twitter. Those are standing offers made prior to this entirely unnecessary subpoena."

Khan reportedly told Jordan in a March 27 reply that FTC investigations are confidential and that the agency "will continue to faithfully discharge our statutory obligations and enforce the law without fear or favor." She also wrote that ensuring compliance is especially critical "when dealing with recidivists," referring to Twitter's earlier privacy transgressions.

Jordan did not release a copy of today's subpoena, but last month's letter requested all documents and communications "referring or relating to the FTC's investigation(s) of Twitter for the period April 1, 2022, to the present," and all communications "referring or relating to Mr. Musk's purchase of Twitter or the FTC's investigation of Twitter."

Musk is apparently concerned about the investigation into Twitter's privacy and data practices, as he requested a meeting with Khan late last year. Khan declined the meeting request and told Twitter that she was "troubled by Twitter's delays and the obstacles that these delays are creating for the FTC's investigation."

The FTC investigation reportedly focuses on whether Twitter is complying with conditions in a May 2022 settlement with the agency in which it agreed to pay a $150 million penalty for targeting ads at users with phone numbers and email addresses collected from those users when they enabled two-factor authentication. Twitter was already subject to a 2011 settlement that prohibited the company from misrepresenting its privacy and security practices.