(NewsNation) — Twitter has a “serious problem” handling and storing data, says the lawyer for Twitter whistleblower Peiter Zatko, the former head of security for the company.
Zatko made waves this week when he alleged Twitter misled its board of directors and federal regulators about deficiencies in its ability to handle hackers, spam and bot accounts on the popular social media platform.
Zatko’s lawyer, John Tye, told NewsNation Zatko has been planning to make these revelations public since December of 2021.
“He’s really motivated by trying to get law enforcement and the Twitter-using public to understand the risks here,” Tye said.
Zatko alleged there are “gross deficiencies” in Twitter’s security that pose real threats to its users. Tye said the consequences of those deficiencies have already been seen.
“As we’ve seen over the last decade, everything from misinformation to disinformation on the platform, that’s driving everything from election interference, the Jan. 6 insurrection, ethnic violence in foreign countries to just overt national security threats,” Tye said.
The federal government has been weighing legislation to address misinformation perpetuated on social media sites, but Tye said he does not believe the government has the infrastructure in place to pull that off successfully.
There are “not the systems in place to actually ensure that this misinformation is properly handled, regardless of what any policy says,” Tye said.