In one of the toughest days for Twitter since Musk closed on its $44 billion acquisition of the social networking company two weeks ago, chief trust and security officer Joel Roth has resigned, according to two people familiar with the situation. . Roth later appeared to confirm his departure, changing his Twitter bio to “Former Head of Trust & Security”. Roth had emerged as one of Musk’s trusted leaders after the Tesla chief laid off more than half of Twitter’s 7,500-strong workforce last week and has been instrumental in efforts to reassure wary advertisers that toxic content is not flooding the platform. platform. Twitter’s chief information security officer, Lea Kissner, and chief privacy officer, Damien Kieran, announced their departures on Thursday, while Twitter’s chief compliance officer also left, according to a person familiar with the matter. While some media reported that Robin Wheeler, who had taken the helm of Twitter’s ad sales team, also left the company, he later tweeted: “I’m still here.” In a separate meeting with some engineering staff on Thursday, Musk warned that the company could have billions of dollars in net negative cash flow, adding that bankruptcy was not out of the question, according to a person familiar with the matter. The comments were first reported by The Information. “Honestly, it feels like chaos,” said one employee, who added about everything: “There was just inconsistency.” The stream of exits caps a tumultuous fortnight for Twitter as concerns grow about its data security and compliance with privacy rules, particularly given the speed with which the platform has rolled out some features since Musk took over. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission, a top consumer protection regulator, said Thursday it is “following recent developments on Twitter with deep concern.” Twitter signed a strict consent decree in 2011, pledging to better protect user data, which the regulator continues to oversee. “No CEO or company is above the law, and companies must follow our consent decrees,” the FTC added. “The revised consent order gives us new tools to ensure compliance, and we are ready to use them.” Separately, a lawyer for the company warned on the company’s Slack channel that Musk was taking a tough stance on privacy regulations and that the company was potentially at risk of significant fines from the FTC, according to a report from The Verge that was confirmed by a person who saw the post. . Regulatory concerns aside, Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech stalwart,” faces an uphill battle to revive Twitter’s already struggling business. Already on Friday it warned of a “massive drop in revenue” as big brands such as General Motors, Mondelez and Carlsberg have halted spending on the platform amid concerns over its plans to ease content curbs. It also faces $1 billion in annual interest payments after it loaded the company with $13 billion in debt to help finance the acquisition of the business. Meanwhile, Musk’s efforts to open up new revenue streams have hit roadblocks. The launch of Twitter Blue, a premium subscription service costing $7.99 per month that includes a “blue check” previously only available to high-profile users, brands and celebrities, has already led to some impersonation attempts. Eli Lilly apologized “to those who received a misleading message from a fake Lilly account” that said the pharmacist was giving away free insulin. Critics warn that moving away from the previous blue check model will also alienate the famous figures that Twitter is meant to bring to its audience. Musk addressed Twitter staff on Thursday for the first time in an email seen by the Financial Times, warning that the social media platform needed “intensive work” in the office to turn its fortunes around. Recommended It added that it is scrapping its work-from-home policy and requiring staff to work 40 hours a week in the office, in a major shake-up of its working practices. At Thursday’s all-hands meeting, Musk had added that not coming to the office would be considered a resignation, one of the people said. The departures were first reported by The Verge and Platformer. Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
