In April of 2022, the world’s richest man Elon Musk decided to buy Twitter for 44 billion dollars because he had aspirations for Twitter to become a “platform for free speech around the globe”.
In May, Mr. Musk was on hold, waiting for information about the number of fake and spam accounts. He asked for evidence that makes sure the bots make up less than 5% of the total users. In a letter filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Musk’s lawyer said Twitter had failed or refused to provide this information.
“Sometimes Twitter has ignored Mr. Musk’s requests, sometimes it has rejected them for reasons that appear to be unjustified, and sometimes it has claimed to comply while giving Mr. Musk incomplete or unusable information,” Musk’s lawyer, Mike Ringler, wrote.
Spam accounts are designed to spread information to lots of people and manipulate the way they interact. Twitter says that it removes around 1 million accounts per day.
After Twitter ignored his requests, Elon Musk believes that there are at least 20% of spam accounts as Twitter users out there.
Legal experts say that this may not be sufficient to terminate the 44 billion without Musk being on the hook for a hefty fine. In response to Musk’s lawyer, the chair of Twitter’s board said it planned to sue.
“The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery,” said Bret Taylor in a tweet, referring to a Delaware court that handles corporate disputes.
Shares in Twitter fell by 7% in extended trading after the announcement.
In May, Mr. Musk was on hold, waiting for information about the number of fake and spam accounts. He asked for evidence that makes sure the bots make up less than 5% of the total users. In a letter filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Musk’s lawyer said Twitter had failed or refused to provide this information.
“Sometimes Twitter has ignored Mr. Musk’s requests, sometimes it has rejected them for reasons that appear to be unjustified, and sometimes it has claimed to comply while giving Mr. Musk incomplete or unusable information,” Musk’s lawyer, Mike Ringler, wrote.
Spam accounts are designed to spread information to lots of people and manipulate the way they interact. Twitter says that it removes around 1 million accounts per day.
After Twitter ignored his requests, Elon Musk believes that there are at least 20% of spam accounts as Twitter users out there.
Legal experts say that this may not be sufficient to terminate the 44 billion without Musk being on the hook for a hefty fine. In response to Musk’s lawyer, the chair of Twitter’s board said it planned to sue.
“The Twitter Board is committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk and plans to pursue legal action to enforce the merger agreement. We are confident we will prevail in the Delaware Court of Chancery,” said Bret Taylor in a tweet, referring to a Delaware court that handles corporate disputes.
Shares in Twitter fell by 7% in extended trading after the announcement.
