Twitter is preparing to comply with Elon Musk’s demand for fake account data, after Tesla CEO threatened to abandon the purchase of the business if he refused.
The social media company will provide the world’s richest man with access to a data stream that includes more than 500 million tweets posted every day, according to the Washington Post. Some companies already pay to access data, which includes real-time logging of tweets, devices from which users tweet, and information about the accounts they tweet, the Post reported.
The New York Times also reported that Twitter would allow Musk to see his “fire sleeve” of daily traffic, in response to legal threats that the deal would otherwise be jeopardized.
Musk warned Twitter on Monday that it could abandon its $ 44 billion deal to acquire the company if it does not provide the spam and fake account data it seeks. The billionaire has expressed doubts about Twitter’s claim that fake and spam accounts account for less than 5% of its 229 million users.
In a letter to Twitter’s legal director released Monday, lawyers representing Tesla’s CEO said he believed the company was “actively resisting and frustrating” its rights to access company data and information in by virtue of the agreement.
They said refusing to provide the information was a “material breach” of the settlement agreement, which would allow Musk to leave without paying the $ 1 billion breach rate written in the settlement.
Carl Tobias, a Williams law professor at the University of Richmond, said access to the data could still not satisfy Musk because of the large scale of information he will have to sift through. “Even if Musk secured access to the ‘fire hose data,’ it would be a huge amount of resources to review the data and it may be unsatisfactory for Musk. In short, it now appears that the confrontation continues.” to say.
Twitter shares rose 0.8% in the afternoon to $ 40.45 after reports, compared to the agreed-upon price of $ 54.20 per share, indicating investor pessimism that the agreement will occur even if the data exchange could make it difficult for Musk to terminate the agreement. .
When contacted for comment, Twitter referred the Guardian to a statement released Monday in which the company said it would “continue to share information cooperatively with Mr. Musk to complete the transaction in accordance with the terms of the merger agreement “.
Fake or spam accounts, known as bot accounts, are automated and not managed by human users. They can use the response feature or direct messages to send ads or scams to users, or represent attempts to influence public debate by tweeting political propaganda. Musk has questioned whether advertisers, who provide most of Twitter’s revenue, are getting value for money because of the robot problem, though Twitter has consistently been left with 5% of its quarterly earnings since 2014.
It was also reported on Wednesday that Twitter legal director Vijaya Gadde had told employees that shareholder voting on the deal could come in late July or early August, as both parties are working to complete the acquisition. .