“Fix your businesses, or Congress will.” After Elon Musk responded to Senator Ed Markey’s concerns about fake verified accounts on Twitter and made fun of him. Additionally, he stated Markey’s real account “seems like a parody,” the Massachusetts Democrat offered advice.
One of your companies is under an FTC consent decree. Auto safety watchdog NHTSA is investigating another for killing people. And you’re spending your time picking fights online. Fix your companies. Or Congress will. https://t.co/lE178gPRoM
— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) November 13, 2022
In a letter to Musk that he addressed on Friday, Markey criticized the new $7.99 per month Blue with verification subscription. In a tweet, Markey included a link to the letter. The letter asks Musk to take action and makes reference to a Washington Post article outlining how easy it was for a reporter to create an account that was falsely validated and looked similar to Markey’s.
According to Markey, “Twitter must explain how this happened and how to prevent it from happening again.”
Musk responded to the tweet, “Perhaps it is because your real account seems like a parody.” About an hour later, the billionaire replied with another tweet asking, “And why does your pp have a mask?” about the Senator’s mask-wearing profile picture on Twitter.
And why does your pp have a mask!?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 13, 2022
Twitter is witnessing many fake accounts
Musk’s statement did not impress Markey, and he issued a warning that if he doesn’t make things right, Congress may impose sanctions on Musk and his several businesses. “One of your companies is under an FTC consent decree. Auto safety watchdog NHTSA is investigating another for killing people. And you’re spending your time picking fights online, “Markey says. “Fix your companies. Or Congress will.”
The senator’s worries about Twitter impersonation may be justified; last week, when Twitter allowed paid verification on iOS. As a result, a flood of fake verified accounts impersonating famous people flooded the network.
While a fake LeBron James account falsely claimed he was leaving the Los Angeles Lakers, a Nintendo account released an image of Mario giving the bird.
The bulk of these accounts was subsequently deleted. However, some remained online for a considerable amount of time, possibly harming the person or brand they were impersonating.
Musk later threatened to block users who use the site to impersonate others. But fraudulent accounts continued to exist, forcing Twitter to disable all Blue signups as a result.
Musk’s Twitter acquisition has bought many ups and downs on one of the biggest social media platforms. His acquisition started with a massive layoff from the firm. Later he warned all the workers to work continuously without any facilities like free meals.
On the other hand, Tesla CEO is having a loss in his electric vehicle firm. People who bought Tesla shares were concerned about Musk. However, they stated that Musk only focused on Twitter, and no such concern was implemented on Tesla.
