XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.politics.democrats, talk.politics.guns   
   XPost: sac.politics   
   From: zinn@reno.us   
      
   Nov 10 (Reuters) - Twitter Inc's new owner Elon Musk on Thursday raised   
   the possibility of the social media platform going bankrupt, capping a   
   chaotic day that included a warning from a U.S. privacy regulator and the   
   exit of the company's trust and safety leader.   
      
   The billionaire on his first mass call with employees said that he could   
   not rule out bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported, two weeks after buying   
   it for $44 billion - a deal that credit experts say has left Twitter's   
   finances in a precarious position.   
      
   Earlier in the day, in his first company-wide email, Musk warned that   
   Twitter would not be able to "survive the upcoming economic downturn" if   
   it fails to boost subscription revenue to offset falling advertising   
   income, three people who have seen the message told Reuters.   
      
   Yoel Roth, who has overseen Twitter's response to combat hate speech,   
   misinformation and spam on the service, resigned on Thursday, two people   
   familiar with the matter told Reuters.   
      
   In his Twitter profile on Thursday, Roth described himself as "Former Head   
   of Trust & Safety" at the company.   
      
   Roth did not respond to requests for comment. Bloomberg and tech site   
   Platformer reported his exit first.   
      
   Earlier on Thursday, Twitter's Chief Information Security Officer Lea   
   Kissner tweeted that she had quit.   
      
   Chief Privacy Officer Damien Kieran and Chief Compliance Officer Marianne   
   Fogarty also resigned, according to an internal message posted to   
   Twitter's Slack messaging system on Thursday by an attorney on its privacy   
   team and seen by Reuters.   
      
   Robin Wheeler, the company's top ad sales executive, told employees in a   
   memo that she was staying at the company, a person who had seen the   
   message said, diverging from earlier media reports that she too would be   
   leaving.   
      
   "I'm still here," Wheeler tweeted late on Thursday.   
      
      
   The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said it was watching Twitter with "deep   
   concern" after the three privacy and compliance officers quit. These   
   resignations potentially put Twitter at risk of violating regulatory   
   orders.   
      
   Musk attorney Alex Spiro told some employees in an email late on Thursday   
   that Twitter would remain in compliance.   
      
   "We spoke to the FTC today about our continuing obligations and have a   
   constructive ongoing dialogue," Spiro wrote.   
      
   He stated that only Twitter, not individual employees, could be held   
   liable against the orders.   
      
   "I understand that there have been employees at Twitter who do not even   
   work on the FTC matter commenting that they could (go) to jail if we were   
   not in compliance - that is simply not how this works," he wrote.   
      
   In his first meeting with many employees at Twitter on Thursday afternoon,   
   Musk warned that the company may lose billions of dollars next year, the   
   Information reported.   
      
   Musk added in the email to workers that remote work would no longer be   
   allowed and that they would be expected in the office for at least 40   
   hours per week.   
      
   Twitter, Musk and Spiro did not respond to requests for comment on a   
   potential bankruptcy, the FTC warning, or the departures.   
      
   Musk ruthlessly moved to clean house after taking over on Oct. 27 and has   
   said the company was losing more than $4 million a day, largely because   
   advertisers started fleeing once he took over.   
      
   Twitter has $13 billion in debt after the deal and faces interest payments   
   totaling close to $1.2 billion in the next 12 months. The payments exceed   
   Twitter's most recently disclosed cash flow, which amounted to $1.1   
   billion as of the end of June.   
      
   Musk has begun charging $8 a month for the Twitter Blue service that will   
   include a blue check verification.   
      
   WARNING   
   "We are tracking recent developments at Twitter with deep concern,"   
   Douglas Farrar, the FTC's director of public affairs, told Reuters.   
      
   "No CEO or company is above the law, and companies must follow our consent   
   decrees. Our revised consent order gives us new tools to ensure   
   compliance, and we are prepared to use them," Farrar said.   
      
   In May, Twitter agreed to pay $150 million to settle allegations by the   
   FTC it misused private information, like phone numbers, to target   
   advertising to users after telling them the information was collected only   
   for security reasons.   
      
   Twitter's privacy attorney on Thursday mentioned in the internal memo that   
   Spiro had said that Musk was willing to take a "huge amount of risk" with   
   the company. "Elon puts rockets into space, he's not afraid of the FTC,"   
   the attorney quoted Spiro as saying.   
      
   Twitter's buyout has sparked concerns that Musk, who has often waded into   
   political debates, could face pressure from countries trying to control   
   online speech.   
      
   It prompted U.S. President Joe Biden to say on Wednesday that Musk's   
   "cooperation and/or technical relationships with other countries is worthy   
   of being looked at."   
      
   ADVERTISERS NOT REASSURED   
   Musk told advertisers on Wednesday, speaking on Twitter's Spaces feature,   
   that he aimed to turn the platform into a force for truth and stop fake   
   accounts.   
      
   His assurances may not be enough.   
      
   Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG.N) said on Thursday it had pulled back its   
   paid and owned content on Twitter "while we gain a better understanding on   
   the direction of the platform under its new leadership."   
      
   It joined other brands including General Motors (GM.N) that have paused   
   advertising on Twitter since Musk took over, concerned that he will loosen   
   content moderation rules.   
      
   https://www.reuters.com/technology/twitter-information-security-chief-   
   kissner-decides-leave-2022-11-10/   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)