Twitter whistleblower could help Elon Musk by adding 'volatility' to legal battle

The complaint by Peiter Zatko gives Musk new angles to pursue in his legal battle, such as claims that Twitter failed to disclose weaknesses in its security and data privacy

A whistleblower's complaint that Twitter Inc. misled federal regulators about the company's security risks could provide Elon Musk with fresh ammunition in his bid to get out of buying the company for $44 billion.

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Until now, Musk's legal showdown with Twitter has primarily revolved around claims that the company misled the billionaire about the number of bot and spam accounts on its platform.

The whistleblower complaint by Twitter's former security chief Peiter Zatko gives Musk new angles to pursue in his legal battle, such as claims that Twitter failed to disclose weaknesses in its security and data privacy.

It provides "a different basis for fraud," said Ann Lipton, a professor at Tulane Law School.

It is not clear if and how Musk's team will use the whistleblower's information, although Musk's lawyer, Alex Spiro with Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, said on Tuesday that a subpoena had been issued to Zatko.

"We found his exit and that of other key employees curious in light of what we have been finding," Spiro said in a statement.