by Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts is calling on Congress to pass new legislation to rein in big tech companies after Elon Musk ignored a request for information. “Elon Musk was able to respond to my tweets, but he did not reply to my letter by yesterday’s deadline or answer basic questions about Twitter verification,” Markey. . “Congress must end the era of failed Big Tech self-regulation and pass laws that put user safety above the whims of billionaires.”
Musk had until November 25 to respond to a letter the senator sent on Twitter on November 11. The initial launch of the new Twitter Blue saw trolls use the service for . Markey on the launch after the washington post created a “verified” account posing as him. A day after Markey shared a copy of the letter on Twitter, Musk attacked the senator.
.@Elon Musk he was able to reply to my tweets but did not respond to my letter by yesterday’s deadline or answer basic questions about Twitter verification. Congress must end the era of failed Big Tech self-regulation and pass laws that put user safety above the whims of billionaires. https://t.co/BEn6n9EitW
—Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) November 26, 2022
“Maybe it’s because your real account sounds like a parody,” Musk tweeted. “And why does your pp have a mask!?” he added a few hours later, referring to Markey’s profile photo, which shows the lawmaker wearing a face covering. The exchange . “One of your companies is under an FTC consent decree. The NHTSA auto safety watchdog is investigating another for killing people. And you’re wasting your time looking for fights online,” the senator said. “Fix your companies. Or Congress will.”
As of this writing, Musk has yet to respond to Markey’s latest tweet. It’s hard to say if the senator’s call will translate into legislative action, particularly with a split between the House of Representatives and the Senate. Musk appeared to answer at least one of Markey’s questions when he announced the Twitter account. The latest version of the program will feature manual authentication and different colored check marks for different types of users. “The gold check for businesses, the gray check for government, the blue check for individuals (celebrities or not) and all verified accounts will be manually authenticated before the check is activated,” he said.
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