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Elon Musk’s X has asked the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to terminate or substantially modify a May 2022 consent order that governs the company’s data security and privacy practices. The FTC has opened a 30-day public comment period on the petition, which would end oversight roughly 16 years early if granted. X argues the order applies to a corporate structure and personnel from the pre-acquisition Twitter era, imposes about $17 million in compliance costs, and diverts engineering resources from artificial intelligence development.
The 2022 order followed FTC findings that Twitter used phone numbers and email addresses collected for multifactor authentication to support personalized advertising, and it extended an earlier 2011 order imposed after two hacking incidents required the company to strengthen cybersecurity controls. X cited a 2024 California court dismissal of related class-action claims as support for its position that the disputed data use was permitted under Twitter’s terms, while acknowledging that a previous attempt to escape the order was rejected by a federal judge in 2023 on procedural or venue grounds.
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The FTC said public comments on whether to revise or rescind X's 2022 consent order are due by July 2 before the agency decides next steps. The comment process concerns X's request to modify or set aside the order tied to Twitter's use of security data for advertising.
After receiving X's request, the FTC opened a 30-day public comment period on whether to end or modify the order governing the company's data security and privacy practices.
X asked the FTC to terminate or substantially modify the May 2022 consent order, arguing it applies to a company structure that no longer exists and imposes significant compliance costs.
In 2024, a California court dismissed a class action tied to Twitter's use of MFA phone numbers and email addresses for advertising, which X cites in support of its position.
A federal judge rejected X's earlier attempt to get out of the 2022 FTC order in November 2023, with the reports saying the decision was based on procedural or venue grounds.
In May 2022, the FTC issued a new consent order extending oversight after finding Twitter used phone numbers and email addresses collected for multifactor authentication to support personalized advertising.
The FTC issued a consent order in 2011 requiring Twitter to improve its cybersecurity after two hacking incidents.
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X owner Elon Musk said the company plans to publish the platform’s entire codebase with **no exceptions** after completing an internal security vulnerability review. The move would expand earlier transparency efforts in which X released parts of its recommendation systems, including code tied to the **"For You"** feed, and is being presented as a way to improve public visibility into how the platform operates. X also said independent third-party reviewers would be asked to verify that the code released publicly matches the software running in the company’s live production environment. Reports said the initiative is intended to help rebuild trust and allow outside scrutiny of recommendation logic and potential algorithmic bias, but no timeline, repository details, or contribution process has been announced.
Jul 17, 2026
French prosecutors raided **X’s Paris offices** as part of a criminal investigation led by the Paris prosecutor’s cybercrime unit with support from France’s National Gendarmerie and **Europol**. Authorities said the probe—opened in **January 2025** after complaints from French officials—covers allegations including **fraudulent/automated data extraction**, **tampering with automated data processing systems**, and potential **organized manipulation of X’s recommendation algorithms**, including concerns about possible influence by foreign actors. Prosecutors also summoned **Elon Musk** and X executive **Linda Yaccarino** for **voluntary interviews** in Paris in April, and called additional employees as witnesses; no charges or arrests were reported at the time of the search. The investigation expanded to include X’s AI chatbot **Grok**, following complaints that it facilitated or generated illegal content, including **sexually explicit deepfakes** (including alleged depictions of minors), **Holocaust denial** content, and alleged complicity in the **possession/distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM)**, alongside allegations of operating an illicit online platform. UK regulators also opened parallel scrutiny: the **ICO** launched a formal investigation into X and Grok over potential generation of nonconsensual sexualized images (including of children), and **Ofcom** had previously announced its own inquiry into related concerns. Separately, European policy pressure on youth social media access continued, with the Netherlands considering a higher minimum age and stricter platform oversight, but that debate is distinct from the French criminal case.
Jun 29, 2026
Elon Musk is pursuing litigation against **OpenAI** and **Microsoft** seeking up to **$134 billion** in restitution tied to claims that OpenAI abandoned its original nonprofit mission and that OpenAI/Microsoft were **unjustly enriched** through their partnership. Reporting describes damages calculations attributed to economist **C. Paul Wazzan**, while OpenAI challenges the methodology as opaque and not tied to specific alleged wrongful conduct, arguing it improperly discounts contributions from other founders, employees, and investors and would be difficult for a jury to adjust across claims. Separately, California Attorney General **Rob Bonta** has reportedly served Musk’s AI company **xAI** with a **cease-and-desist** order over *Grok*’s alleged ability to generate **non-consensual explicit deepfake imagery**, including “undressing” real individuals and potentially involving minors. The juxtaposition highlights escalating legal and regulatory pressure around Musk’s AI-related activities: a high-stakes civil damages push against OpenAI/Microsoft alongside state action targeting alleged misuse of generative image capabilities at xAI.
Jun 29, 2026