The chaos that have followed Elon Musk’s ownership of Twitter deepened on Thursday as key security executives resigned from the platform, drawing a sharp warning from US regulators.
This is sequel to the turbulent launch of new features introduced by Tesla and SpaceX owner Musk following his $44 billion buyout of the influential messaging app.
Musk had on Thursday warned employees that the site was burning dangerously through cash, raising the specter of bankruptcy if the situation was not turned around.
“I’ve made the hard decision to leave Twitter,” tweeted chief security officer Lea Kissner, who reportedly stepped down with other key privacy or security executives.
In the most extraordinary exit, US media reported that Yoel Roth, the site’s head of trust and safety stepped down just a day after staunchly defending Musk’s content moderation policy to advertisers.
The convulsions followed the unveiling of the site’s long-awaited Twitter Blue subscription service, which allows users to pay $7.99 per month for a coveted blue tick, as well as a separate gray “official” badge for some high-profile accounts.
But the release descended into tumult on Wednesday when Musk scrapped the new gray label almost immediately, overshadowing the launch of the pay service, which is currently only available on the mobile app on iPhones and in the United States.
The launch also saw the emergence of a flurry of fake accounts as users used the opportunity to impersonate celebrities and politicians such as NBA star LeBron James or former British prime minister Tony Blair.
Early media reports also said Robin Wheeler, who held a key role linking Twitter with advertisers and was considered a key Musk ally inside the company, was leaving but late Thursday she tweeted: “I’m still here.”
The chaos drew a rare warning from the Federal Trade Commission, the US authority that oversees consumer safety which had put Twitter under watch for past security and privacy breaches.
“We are tracking recent developments at Twitter with deep concern,” a spokesperson for the FTC said in a statement.
“No CEO or company is above the law, and companies must follow our consent decrees,” the spokesperson added, referring to past commitments by Twitter to obey US privacy rules.
