Twitter expected to attack whistleblower

SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk can add new information from a Twitter whistleblower to his counterclaims in ongoing litigation over his attempt to back out of acquiring the site.

A judge ruled Wednesday that Musk can add allegations from former Twitter Inc. executive Peiter Zatko, who has claimed “extreme, egregious deficiencies” in its security practices and that the company hid information about fake or automated accounts.

However, Delaware Chancery Court Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick said Musk could seek “only incremental” information from Twitter on the new claims. And she ruled that the trial will continue as scheduled on Oct. 17, rejecting Musk’s request for a delay.

Doing so “would risk further harm to Twitter too great to justify,” she added in the court filing.

“We look forward to presenting our case in court beginning on October 17th and intend to close the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk,” Twitter spokesperson Brenden Lee said in a statement.

“We are hopeful that winning the motion to amend takes us one step closer to the truth coming out in that courtroom,” Musk’s lawyer Alex Spiro said in a statement.

Zatko, a prominent hacker also known as “Mudge,” said that Twitter violated the terms of an 11-year-old settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and claimed the company prioritized user growth to reducing spam.

Twitter has pushed back on Zatko’s allegations, calling them “riddled with inaccuracies.”

Earlier this year, Musk launched a hostile takeover attempt, and Twitter accepted his offer to pay about $44 billion for the company. But Musk filed to terminate the deal just months later, saying Twitter had misled him and his team about the prevalence of bots, or fake or automated accounts, on the site.

Twitter sued him to complete the merger, and the judge largely granted the company’s request for an expedited trial.

McCormick’s decision Wednesday to allow Musk to amend his counterclaims is typical in such cases, but she didn’t detail Musk’s claims.

“I am reticent to say more concerning the merits of the counterclaims at this posture before they have been fully litigated,” she wrote. “The world will have to wait for the post-trial decision.”

“We look forward to presenting our case in court beginning on October 17th and intend to close the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk”

— Brenden Lee, Twitter spokesperson