Musk ghosted by the boss of the American competition policeman


Elon Musk may give his opinion on all subjects, especially on the current madness around artificial intelligence, but that does not mean that he has all the rights. The American multi-billionaire was able to realize this after wanting to initiate dialogue with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the American competition policeman.

Indeed, the boss of Tesla and SpaceX asked to meet Lina Khan, the president of this antitrust authority, after an investigation was launched into Twitter’s privacy and data protection practices. But his request was denied, according to documents reviewed by the New York Times.

A source familiar with the matter quoted by the daily indicates that the whimsical entrepreneur of South African origin tried to meet Lina Khan at the end of 2022. On the advice of the team in charge of law enforcement in the office of consumer protection, the latter declined the interview.

Lina Khan expects better cooperation from Twitter

In a letter dated January 27, 2023, which mentions this refusal, Lina Khan had noted that Twitter was dragging on providing documents to her commission, to the point of saying “troubled by Twitter’s delays and the obstacles these delays create for the FTC’s investigation”. Annoyed by the attitude of the leaders of the social network, the manager had instructed a lawyer from Twitter to focus on the requests for information from the investigators. “Once Twitter fully complies with all FTC requests, I would be happy to consider a meeting with Elon Musk”she wrote.

Unable to meet Lina Khan, a character particularly feared by Gafam, the new owner of Twitter spoke last month with Christine Wilsonn, the only Republican commissioner of the FTC, reports the New York Times. The latter plans to leave the agency on March 31 due to disagreements over the leadership of Lina Khan, appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden to head the institution.

Elon Musk will therefore have to wait to get a meeting with Lina Khan. The multi-billionaire’s request can be interpreted as a sign of restlessness on his part, as he has come under heavy fire from criticism since he got his hands on Twitter five months ago.



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