SAN FRANCISCO — A senior legal professional at Twitter submitted his resignation on Thursday, 4 other people aware of the topic mentioned, changing into the newest in a string of executives to go away the corporate since Elon Musk took it over just about six months in the past.
The legal professional, Christian Dowell, rose to the most sensible of Twitter’s criminal division in fresh months after the corporate’s criminal leaders resigned or have been fired via Mr. Musk. Mr. Dowell were in detail concerned in Twitter’s fresh negotiations with the Federal Trade Commission, two other people aware of the ones discussions mentioned.
The F.T.C., which lately has oversight over Twitter, is having a look into a former govt’s claims that the corporate has had safety issues. The fee sped up its inquiry after the surprising resignations of 3 Twitter executives liable for privateness, safety and compliance. They departed Twitter in November, in a while after Mr. Musk bought the corporate.
The company’s investigation into Twitter has intensified in fresh months, and is scrutinizing whether or not the corporate has the assets to uphold its privateness guarantees after mass layoffs and resignations.
Mr. Dowell didn’t reply to a request for remark. Mr. Musk didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Inside Elon Musk’s Twitter
- A New Label for NPR: Twitter has added a label to the public radio community’s account on the social community, designating the broadcaster “U.S. state-affiliated media.” NPR denounced the transfer as “unacceptable.”
- Check-Mark Removal: Twitter customers had expected a reckoning as the take a look at marks that denoted verified-user standing have been set to be got rid of. They are nonetheless ready.
- F.T.C. Investigation: Elon Musk attempted attractive with the Federal Trade Commission as the company intensified an inquiry into Twitter’s privateness and information practices, paperwork display, however he was once rebuffed.
- Source Code Leak: Parts of the underlying pc code on which Twitter runs have been leaked on-line — a uncommon and primary publicity of highbrow assets.
Mr. Musk sought to satisfy with some of the F.T.C.’s commissioners in fresh months to speak about the investigation, two other people aware of his efforts mentioned. Only Christine Wilson, the departing Republican commissioner, accredited his request. Mr. Dowell coordinated Twitter’s responses to the F.T.C.’s inquiries and took part in arranging the assembly, the ones other people mentioned.
Ms. Wilson stepped down from her place final Friday. In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece about her choice to renounce, she mentioned Lina Khan, the F.T.C. chair, held “disregard for the rule of law and due process and the way senior F.T.C. officials enable her.”
Mr. Dowell joined Twitter in 2020 after stints at the question-and-answer website online Quora and Facebook, and all in favour of product problems earlier than he was once promoted in December, changing into the head of criminal overseeing Twitter’s product.
Mr. Dowell’s departure follows a spate of exits via criminal and compliance executives at the social media corporate. On the day that Mr. Musk closed his deal for Twitter in past due October, he fired Vijaya Gadde, then the corporate’s leader criminal officer, and its normal suggest, Sean Edgett.
In December, Mr. Musk fired James A. Baker, a Twitter legal professional and a former normal suggest at the F.B.I., after Mr. Baker performed a function in reviewing interior communications about the corporate’s choice to suppress a 2020 New York Post tale about Hunter Biden’s computer. The billionaire has additionally sidelined his private legal professional from operating at Twitter and turned around in different criminal assist from SpaceX, the rocket corporate he based and operates.
Beyond the F.T.C. investigation, Twitter is dealing with a host of court cases over unpaid expenses for instrument, dealer products and services and hire. Former staff have additionally sued the corporate, claiming that it violated hard work regulations all over layoffs.
Twitter additionally sought to pursue criminal motion in opposition to an unknown one who leaked parts of its supply code on-line and bought a subpoena final month compelling GitHub, the instrument building collaboration platform that hosted the code, to disclose information about the particular person.
This week, a German federal frame started lawsuits to tremendous Twitter for what it mentioned was once the corporate’s failure to care for proceedings of unlawful content material. “First I’ve heard about this,” Mr. Musk tweeted on Tuesday about the German criminal lawsuits.
Mr. Dowell’s resignation comes as Mr. Musk mentioned he was once development a “powerful litigation team” at Tesla, his electrical carmaker. On Tuesday, he tweeted that this group would move “after the Wall St short-sellers, certain law firms & (sometimes) corrupt regulators who are the true evil.”
Several Twitter executives have submitted their resignations, best to go back to paintings at the corporate, and it’s unclear whether or not Mr. Dowell would possibly return to Twitter one day.
Robin Wheeler, a gross sales govt, resigned in November however got here again and stayed for a few extra weeks. It was once no longer instantly transparent who at Twitter would possibly inherit Mr. Dowell’s criminal duties.
