Twitter plans to comply with Elon Musk's demands to give him access to internal data so that he can evaluate the number of spam and fake accounts. The platform will give him access to its full “firehose,” the massive stream of data comprising more than 500 million tweets posted each day, according to a person familiar with the company’s thinking, who spoke with The Washington Post.
The move is aimed at finalizing the deal, as Musk recently hinted he could pull out of the deal if he does not get access to the requested information. The source said that access to Twitter's “firehose,” the massive stream of data, could be provided as early as this week. Currently, about two dozen companies pay for access to the database of Twitter users.
The data stream is essential in order to understand the number of spam and bot accounts on the platform. They are something that could impact a company's advertising revenue. The purchase agreement requires Musk to complete the deal. But, if he can prove that the company misled him, or if some major event changed its value, then the situation may turn out differently. The source said Twitter leaders are skeptical of Musk's ability to use “firehose” to find the information he needs. However, their initial reluctance to provide the requested information may hint at their bad faith.
On June 6, in a letter to regulators, Musk said he has the right to conduct his own assessment, and he believes spam and fake accounts make up a much larger proportion than the less than 5% of daily Twitter users that the platform has publicly reported. Musk has put the deal on hold until it can be finalized that this is true, but the platform continues to ignore the request, thereby harming a fair deal and violating the buyer's right to receive information. He has been requesting this information since May 9.
“As Twitter's prospective owner, Mr. Musk is clearly entitled to the requested data to enable him to prepare for transitioning Twitter's business to his ownership and to facilitate his transaction financing. To do both, he must have a complete and accurate understanding of the very core of Twitter's business model - its active user base,” lawyer Mike Ringler wrote in the letter.
Twitter spokesman Scott Bisang referred The Washington Post to the company’s Monday statement. “Twitter has and will continue to cooperatively share information with Mr. Musk to consummate the transaction in accordance with the terms of the merger agreement,” the statement said. “We believe this agreement is in the best interest of all shareholders. We intend to close the transaction and enforce the merger agreement at the agreed price and terms.”
© 2022, Eva Fox | Tesmanian. All rights reserved.
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About the Author
Eva Fox
Eva Fox joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover breaking news as an automotive journalist. The main topics that she covers are clean energy and electric vehicles. As a journalist, Eva is specialized in Tesla and topics related to the work and development of the company.
